Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday slammed Tata Group-owned Air India for allotting him a 'broken and sunk' seat, prompting his ministerial colleague K Rammohan Naidu to instruct the airline to take 'necessary action'.
Separately, Air India apologised for the incident and ordered a 'thorough probe' while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation sought a report from the airline in the matter.
Later in the day, Chouhan, the Union Minister for Agriculture, said he spoke about his experience so that the airline's management comes to know about it and other passengers do not face such problem again.
Describing the incident as an 'unethical' practice wherein the airline charges passengers full fare and then makes them occupy defective seats, Chouhan in a post on X said he had boarded the Delhi-bound Air India flight AI436 from Bhopal for Delhi to inaugurate a farmers' fair in Pusa.
'I was allotted seat number 8C. When I reached my seat and sat down, I found that it was broken and sunk. Sitting was uncomfortable,' the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister wrote on X.
When he confronted the crew over the allotment of a defective seat, he was told that the management had been apprised about the condition of the seat, which shouldn't be sold to passengers.
The Union Minister claimed several seats on the flight were in a similar condition.
'Fellow passengers insisted that I exchange seats with them and take a better one, but I didn't want to trouble any of my friends for my own comfort. So, I decided to complete my journey on the same seat,' he stated.
Chouhan said he assumed Air India's service would have improved after being taken over by the Tata management, but he was mistaken.
'I am not concerned about my discomfort, but charging passengers full fare and then making them sit on defective and uncomfortable seats is unethical.
'Isn't this a form of deception towards passengers?' he asked.
Chouhan further asked whether Air India management would take steps to ensure that no passenger faces such discomfort in the future, 'or will it continue to exploit passengers' urgency to reach their destination?'
From Delhi, the minister proceeded to attend the Natural Farming Mission meeting in Kurukshetra, and was due to hold discussions with representatives of the farmers' organisation in Chandigarh.
Speaking to reporters in Kurukshetra, Haryana, the minister said, "If something wrong happens, one option is not to speak a word about it. But I thought that the question was not about me. If other passengers also face the same issue, management should also know about it so that this situation doesn't arise again. If they are taking money, they must also provide proper service."
Civil Aviation Minister's office in a statement said the minister has taken 'swift action' following Chouhan's post regarding Air India.
'We spoke to Air India immediately on this issue and instructed them to take necessary action. From our side DGCA will also be looking into details of the matter promptly. And I have personally spoken to Shivraj ji also,' Naidu said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a senior DGCA official said that it has sought a report from Air India over the incident. However, it did not elaborate further.
After Chouhan shared his experience on X, Air India apologised for the 'inconvenience' and ordered a 'thorough' probe into the incident.
"Air India deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to Hon'ble Union Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan ji on his flight from Bhopal to Delhi. This does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide to our guests, and we are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter to ensure that such incidents are not repeated," an Air India Spokesperson said.
Also, taking note of Chouhan's post, Air India replied on X, 'Dear Sir, we apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please be rest assured that we are looking into this matter carefully to prevent any such occurrences in the future. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, kindly DM us a convenient time to connect.'
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