DGCA reports flight problems, baggage, and refunds as top passenger complaints

According to a recent report by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the primary concerns among the 246 passenger complaints filed against scheduled domestic airlines in September were related to flight issues, baggage problems, and refund-related issues.

As reported by ANI citing the air traffic report released by DGCA, “During September 2023, a total of 246 passenger-related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of September 2023 has been around 0.20.”

As per the report, the primary causes of passenger complaints were flight problems, accounting for 41.9 percent, followed by baggage issues at 19.9 percent, and refund-related concerns at 15.4 percent. Notably, the predominant cause of complaints was flight problems.

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Furthermore, the report indicated that out of the total 246 complaints received, 242 of them have been successfully resolved.

“There is a significant increase in complaints related to staff behaviour and customer service as compared to the previous month August. In August, there were 5.9 per cent of complaints related to customer service that have gone up to 10.2. Similarly, complaints related to staff behaviour that was 2.4 per cent in August have come up to 4.9 per cent,” the report read.

In addition, the DGCA’s report disclosed that passenger complaints received by the aviation regulator included issues related to customer service, which accounted for 10.2 per cent of the total complaints, as well as staff behaviour, which constituted 4.9 per cent of the complaints. However, it is noteworthy that only a very small fraction, specifically 0.4 per cent, of the complaints pertained to fare-related concerns.

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In September, a total of 663 passengers were denied boarding and airlines spent ₹71.52 lakhs on compensation and facilities. Similarly, 40,940 passengers were affected due to cancellations of flights and airlines spent ₹128.70 lakhs on compensation and facilities. A total of 123063 passengers were affected due to delays and airlines spent ₹149.46 lakhs towards facilitation.

The report states further that the maximum number of complaints were received by Indigo (61) followed by Spice Jet (55) and Air India (54).

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Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs expressed apprehensions regarding potential unfair trade practices within the airline industry and online travel aggregators, ANI reported.

The Secretary of Consumer Affairs, Rohit Kumar Singh, pointed out that the National Consumer Helpline received approximately 10,000 complaints pertaining to the airline sector over the course of the past year.

(With inputs from ANI)