MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla flags overcharging of Vande Bharat flight tickets

Tribune News Service

Advertisement

Amritsar, November 16

MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has raised malpractices in selling tickets under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission (VBM)’ by travel agents through a communiqué to Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Civil Aviation.

In the communiqué, he stated that ever since the permission was granted to travel agents to sell Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) tickets, malpractices on the issuing of VBM flight tickets of Air India emerged and the role of insiders cannot be ruled out. People involved in the travel trade and the passengers were questioning the system.

It has also been reported in media sting operations that Air India insiders keep the inventory closed to help a few agents surreptitiously, he alleged.

The Lok Sabha MP said his office has also been receiving similar complaints from the distressed passengers belonging to entire Mahja region who are settled or studying in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Almost all of them have been overcharged and had to travel on expensive tickets. On some occasions it has been reported that travel agents refused to supply passengers with original invoice and also hesitate to process the refund of the tickets to avoid suspicion.

VBM flights were started to save Indians stranded elsewhere in the world, but it is turning out to be an exercise to mint money for a cash-strapped airline, he claimed.

“This kind of malpractices cannot happen without a nexus within the organisation. I therefore request your good office to intervene into this matter and create a foolproof system to issue VBM tickets and initiate a strict action against the nexus.”