Chouhan given 'broken' seat on Air India flight, DGCA seeks clarification

The civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Saturday sought a clarification from Air India regarding a complaint by Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who criticised the airline's service quality on social media after he was provided a "broken" seat on a Bhopal-Delhi flight.

- Neha LM Tripathi

NEW DELHI:

In a post on X, Chouhan described his journey on flight AI436, where he said he was assigned a broken and sunken seat, which made his journey uncomfortable. Chouhan expressed his disappointment, saying that he had hoped for improved service under the new management.

"My impression was that Air India's service would improve after Tata took over, but it turned out to be my misconception," Chouhan said. "I don't mind discomfort in sitting, but it is unethical to make passengers sit on bad and uncomfortable seats after charging them the full fare. Isn't this cheating the passengers?" his post said.

An aviation ministry official said, "The DGCA has sought a response from Air India on the issue of broken seats highlighted by the Union minister."