Chouhan slams Air India over ‘broken’ seats

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday criticised Tata-owned Air India for sunken and broken seats on his Bhopal-Delhi flight and demanded accountability, prompting his ministerial colleague K Rammohan Naidu to instruct the airline to take “necessary action”.

Air India apologised for the incident and ordered a “thorough probe”, while the DGCA sought a report from the airline in the matter.

“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.

Chouhan took to X to share details of his inconvenient journey on the Bhopal-Delhi flight and how his co-passengers struggled too.

“Today I had to come from Bhopal to Delhi, inaugurate the Kisan Mela in PUSA complex in Delhi, hold a meeting of the Natural Farming Mission in Kurukshetra and meet with the honourable representatives of the Kisan Organisation in Chandigarh. I had booked a ticket on Air India flight AI436 and was allotted seat 8C. When I sat down, I found the seat broken and sunken in. It was uncomfortable to sit. When I asked the airline staff why the seat was allotted to me if it was in such poor shape, they told me the management had been informed earlier that this seat was not good and its ticket should not be sold. But it is not just about one seat. Many more are in a similar shape,” said Chouhan.