The incident is related to Akasha’s Bengaluru-Pune flight on September 6. Photo credit: PTI
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday (Dec 24, 2024) fined Akasa Air ₹ 10 lakh for non-payment of compensation to seven passengers after they were denied boarding on a Bengaluru-Pune flight on September 6.
Although the airline accommodated them on an Indigo flight scheduled for departure two hours later on the same day, DGCA norms require airlines to compensate passengers if the alternate flight is more than an hour after the original departure time. In this case, passengers were entitled to 200% of the basic fare, and fuel charges up to a maximum of ₹ 10,000.
The incident is related to Akasa’s Bengaluru to Pune flight QP 1437 which was scheduled to take off at 8.50 pm. The aircraft was grounded for repairs and the replacement aircraft had nine seats that were unserviceable. As a result, seven passengers were denied boarding.
They were put on the Indigo flight scheduled to depart at 10.40 pm on the same day.
“No compensation has been paid to the passengers, thereby failing to comply with the provisions of CAR Section-3, Series M, Part IV,” the DGCA wrote in its order on Tuesday.
The CAR, or Civil Aviation Requirement, lays down the amount of compensation to be paid for “denied boarding” in various scenarios.
The order further said that even though the regulator raised a request for compensation for the passengers, the airline protested on the grounds that they were denied boarding due to “reasons beyond the control of the airline”.
Following the DGCA’s order, Akasa Air said in a statement, “We continue to work closely with the DGCA to address this matter and enhance our protocols as required by the regulator”.
The fine collected by the regulator is deposited in the sovereign fund of the Government of India.
published – Dec 24, 2024 09:16 pm IST