NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined Akasa Rs 10 lakh for not compensating seven passengers who were denied boarding to Bengaluru-Pune flight (QP 1437) on Sept 6, 2024. The aircraft supposed to operate this sector had to be grounded and the replacement plane had nine non-operational seats due to which these people were denied boarding. While Akasa accommodated them on an IndiGo flight that was to leave within two hours of the one they were originally booked on, it did not compensate the flyers.
Comments have been sought from Akasa on this issue and are awaited. QP 1437 had a scheduled departure time of 8.50 pm and the same for the IndiGo flight arranged for the seven was 10.40 pm on Sept 6.
This non-compliance of compensation rules by Akasa came to light when the DGCA carried out an inspection of major scheduled domestic airlines at Bengaluru airport on Sept 9 as part of its annual surveillance programme. After the same, the regulator issued a “deficiency reporting form” to Akasa raising the denied boarding issue which the airline justified on the grounds of non-availability of seats on the replacement aircraft.
After examining the airline’s reply on the subject, the DGCA found the former had not complied with the denied boarding compensation norms and issued it a show cause on Nov 1. Sources say Akasa defended “denial boarding was due to reasons beyond the control of the airline and requested to close the findings.” When the show cause notice was issued, “Akasa initiated the process of collecting bank account and consent from the seven passengers for payment of compensation. However, the corrective action was initiated only after show cause was issued. This contravenes rules,” said sources.
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