Airlines need to minimise passenger inconvenience

Pushpa Girimaji

The fact that heavy fog descends on the northern parts of India during winter, resulting in low visibility, is well known. And today, weather forecasts are near-perfect and there is sufficient advance warning of weather conditions — the India Meteorological Department that provides aviation meteorological services has an excellent online briefing system. And yet, year after year, the regulator and the industry completely fail to prepare for the contingencies and are taken by surprise by the chaos that results from their lack of preparedness. The fact that this has been happening for the past two decades shows that the apathy towards consumer suffering has become endemic.

This year was no different. The authorities woke up only after several unprecedented and horrifying incidents jolted them out of their slumber. The video of an irate passenger slapping a co-pilot of IndiGo airlines shocked the nation — one cannot condone violence of any sort, but it reflected the anger and frustration of passengers exasperated by not just the long waits in the aircraft and at the airport, but also the absence of proper communication from the airlines to the passengers. Equally unprecedented was the scene of passengers sitting and eating on the Mumbai airport tarmac, like refugees! There were other unfortunate scenes — of passengers, both national and international — cooped up inside the aircraft for long hours, waiting for take-off, only to be told that the flight was cancelled. With so many delayed and cancelled flights, the Delhi airport looked worse than the ISBT bus stand!

After passenger complaints inundated the social media, the DGCA issued Standard Operating Procedures to airlines to publish accurate real-time information on flight delays to passengers and also cancel, well in advance, flights likely to be delayed beyond three hours, to reduce passenger inconvenience and congestion at airports. The fact that the DGCA had to remind airlines of the basic courtesy that they ought to extend to customers was a new low in the customer service provided by airlines.

It’s also difficult to understand how the regulator did not ensure the completion of the maintenance work on one of the two (Instrument Landing Systems) CAT-IIIB compliant runways at the Delhi airport, knowing full well its importance during low visibility situations. Today, we see the most complicated roads, bridges, buildings and even temples being completed in record time. So, surely, repairing a runway before the onset of winter cannot be such a difficult task. How is it that the authorities were not alert to the consequences of this delay and ensured its completion before the worst of the weather set in?

Similarly, with one CAT-III runway under construction, the least the authorities could have done was to get the National Highways Authority of India to remove the crane parked on the Dwarka expressway as soon as the fog warnings started coming in. Their failure to ensure this resulted in the downgrading of the other CAT-III runway to CAT- I. Yes, the zero visibility at the Delhi airport last Sunday morning would have certainly affected air traffic, but the disruption would not have spiralled out of control if these two runways were fully functional.

One cannot wish away fog and poor visibility during the height of winter in the northern parts of India. But one can certainly take cognisance of it well in advance and take all measures necessary to keep the situation under control and minimise passenger inconvenience. Besides ensuring that all maintenance work is completed well in advance, it is also important to assess the number of flights that the airports can handle during severe fog situations. Accordingly, cut down the number of early morning and late night flights so that the system does not get overwhelmed. Similarly, it is essential to create sanitised zones where passengers who are deboarded on account of delays in take-off are accommodated, without having to go through security checks again. It is also important to formulate a logical queue system for take-offs, so that airlines are not forced to keep the passengers locked inside the aircraft in order to maintain their position in the queue.

I must mention that in response to arguments from airlines that delays caused by natural calamities were beyond their control and they should not be asked to compensate consumers for such delays, the apex consumer court had pointed out that they may not be accountable for delays caused by fog, but they will certainly be liable for their failure to communicate with the consumers and provide all necessary facilities, including food and water, to the waiting passengers.

If you have such a grievance against an airline, you can register it on the National Consumer Helpline (consumerhelpline.gov.in) run by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The helpline acts as an alternate disputes redressal mechanism and tries to resolve the issue by reaching out to the airlines. If that fails, you will at least get guidance on how to lodge a complaint before the consumer court to get the compensation that you deserve. So go ahead and make that move!

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