DGCA issues show-cause notice to Air India for not providing adequate compensation to passengers for delayed flights

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday issued a show cause to Air India for inadequate compensation to provide appropriate protection to travellers in case of flight disruptions.

DGCA considers it imperative to continuously strengthen the rights of the passengers and ensure that the airlines operate under harmonized conditions in line with best global practices, said the regulator in a statement.

Accordingly, DGCA had issued CAR Section-3, Series M part IV titled "Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights" in 2010 (revised from time to time) to ensure appropriate protection for air travellers in case of flight disruptions and, in particular, denied boardings, flight cancellations and delays.

DGCA issues show-cause notice to Air India for violation of DGCA Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR). Earlier, a fine of Rs 10 lakhs was imposed on the airline company for non-compliance with CAR.
In order to ensure compliance with passenger-centric CARs, DGCA carried out inspections of scheduled domestic airlines at various major airports on a continuing basis since May 2023.

During the inspections of the airlines, it was observed that Air India was not complying with the provisions of the relevant CAR. Accordingly, a Show Cause Notice has been issued to Air India seeking their response for non-compliance to the provisions of the CAR.
It may be recalled that similar inspections had earlier been carried out at major airports last year and on grounds of similar non-compliance by Air India with the provisions of CAR on Denied Boarding of passengers, a penalty of Rs. 10,00,000 was imposed on Air India for the violations.