Govt to tell airlines to educate first-time passengers

The government is working on an exhaustive charter of passenger rights and is likely to ask airlines to take steps for educating first-time flyers.

While the number of air passengers has surged in the Indian skies, there has been increasing tension, with a number of unpleasant incidents involving airline staff and flyers. In 2017, domestic air traffic surged 17.4 per cent to cross the 100-million mark, a first for Indian skies. Thanks to low fares, addition of new flights and economic growth.

Government officials said of passenger additions, at least a quarter are first-time flyers and they need to be made more aware of the protocols in taking a flight.

“It will be an exhaustive charter, which will tell the passenger about all their rights, like whether they are eligible for a refund when there is a flight delay, what to do in such cases and other in-flight etiquette,” said Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey.

He said the government would also ask airlines and airports to communicate all these efficiently. “One process could be through an extra page of the directive which will be sent with a ticket, through regular SMS and displaying it prominently in airports. We have suggested this to the stakeholders and will finalise it soon,” he said.

The government will also ask airlines to properly train staff on guiding first-time flyers. In a report released in January, a standing committee of Parliament said airlines need to be passenger-friendly. Crew should be trained to be more polite, beyond only saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’, it said.

“Passengers expect civilised behaviour from cabin crew and ground staff whose salaries are paid from the income earned from passengers,” it added.