AirSewa portal receives over 14,000 grievances in December amid IndiGo meltdown
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Civil Aviations AirSewa platform, the official grievance redressal mechanism for air passengers, faced a surge of complaints during the IndiGo operational meltdown in early December. In response, a 24x7 real-time Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) was established on 10 December to expedite resolution of public grievances. Data shared by the ministry indicates that over 14,000 grievances were submitted through the portal, as well as via calls, emails, and social media, during December. Of these, 3,206 complaints were lodged in a single week between 3 and 9 December, largely due to the IndiGo disruption, which affected domestic operations nationwide from 1 to 9 December. Speaking to TNIE, Deputy Director General Pramod Kumar Thakur said, A 100-strong team comprising airport and airline representatives, officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India, and the Ministry are posted in the real-time PACR. They work round-the-clock in three shifts to ensure passenger grievances are resolved promptly. We have already redressed most of the nearly 14,000 grievances received in December. The media was given a tour of the control room at Udaan Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport, to observe its functioning. The PACR has significantly improved our response to the varied issues raised by the public and will be made a permanent set-up, Thakur added. The Ministry highlighted the need for such a PACR, citing the rapid growth of aviation in India, which has resulted in challenges such as frequent flight delays, delayed or inadequate refunds, long queues, poor passenger facilities at airports, and lost baggage incidents. These concerns underscored the need for a structured, systematic, and coordinated response rather than ad-hoc interventions, the Ministry said. AirSewa was set up in 2016 as an integrated feedback and redressal mechanism across all platforms. While it functioned effectively under routine circumstances, the dispersion of key stakeholders across various government departments and aviation entities often caused delays in grievance resolution. This prompted the establishment of the integrated PACR to streamline the process.
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