Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took to social media to share his experience while traveling with Air India on Saturday. He criticized the airline for assigning him a broken seat during his recent flight from Bhopal to New Delhi and accused them of deceiving passengers.
In a detailed post on X, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister recounted that while he was traveling to inaugurate the Kisan Mela in Pusa, he was allotted seat 8C, which was broken and sunken in.
“Today, I had to travel from Bhopal to Delhi, inaugurate the Kisan Mela in Pusa, hold a meeting of the Natural Farming Mission in Kurukshetra, and discuss key issues with representatives of the Kisan Organization in Chandigarh. “I had booked a ticket on Air India flight AI436 and was allotted seat 8C. However, when I sat down, I found the seat was broken and sunken in, making it extremely uncomfortable.”
The minister also highlighted that he saw many seats in a similar condition. “When I asked the airline staff why I was given a defective seat, they admitted that the management had already been informed about its condition and that its ticket should not have been sold. Moreover, it was not just one seat—many others were in a similar condition,” he continued.
“Some co-passengers suggested I switch to a better seat, but I didn’t want to inconvenience another traveler, so I decided to complete my journey in the same seat.” Chouhan further expressed that he believed Air India’s facilities would improve after Tata’s takeover, but he was proven wrong.
“I had believed that Air India’s service would improve after Tata took over its management, but I was mistaken.”
He expressed his concerns, calling this “unethical” and saying it was cheating passengers. “While I can tolerate discomfort, it is unethical to charge passengers the full fare while making them sit in damaged and uncomfortable seats. Isn’t this cheating the passengers?”
He further urged Air India’s management to prevent such inconveniences. “Will Air India’s management take steps to prevent such inconveniences in the future, or will it continue to exploit passengers who have no choice but to reach their destinations on time?”
Air India has issued an apology to the Union Minister, assuring him that they will look into the matter carefully.
The airline stated, “Dear Sir, we apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please rest assured that we are looking into this matter carefully to prevent any such occurrences in the future. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you; kindly DM us a convenient time to connect.”
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