28,000 denied boarding pass

Jet leads the pack, SpiceJet follows

Data from civil aviation regulator DGCA reveals that more than 28,000 air travellers were denied boarding passes between 2017 and 2018 despite arriving on time at check-in counters.

According to the data shared to city-based RTI activist Rakesh Dubbudu, Jet Airways has got the dubious distinction of denying boarding passes to 19,955 people, which makes up 70 per cent of those who suffered at the hands of airlines. SpiceJet comes a distant second by contributing 19 per cent boarding pass denials and Air India nine per cent.

Since airlines is a high-cost business, airlines typically sell more number of tickets than its actual seating capacity to avoid flying with unoccupied seats.

According to experts, extra tickets sold in airlines would offset the ‘cancellation’ and noshow passengers. However, if there is no cancellation of oversold tickets, the airline would be forced to deny boarding pass to some passengers. Such passengers would either be accommodated in other flights or compensated by the airline as per rules.

Stringent rules are in place to penalise the airlines for denying boarding, and cancelling and delaying flights.

If you are one among those who arrived on time yet have been denied a boarding pass, here is what you should know. The airlines must first ask for volunteers to give up their seats to make them available for others in exchange for benefits/facilities that the airline may offer.

But if another flight is arranged which is scheduled to depart within 1 hour of the original scheduled departure time, the airline need not pay the compensation. In case of further delay, the airline is liable for reimbursement.

Mr Dubbudu said the boarding pass could be denied to the passengers only if there are reasonable grounds to refuse carriage.