DNA Money Edit: Airlines need to be more passenger-friendly

Airlines in India have drawn much flak for their shoddy behaviour with passengers, especially at the time of check-in and baggage collection. A recent draft report by the parliamentary committee on aviation has pulled up airlines badly. The most shocking revelation is the rising trend among airlines, especially the no-frill ones, wherein the carriers create long queues at their check-in counters to delay the check-in process so that passengers miss their scheduled flights. This compels them to buy tickets at exorbitant prices to travel in the next available flight.

The committee also notes that airlines are overbooking flights and denying passengers a seat on their confirmed tickets, leading to ugly scenes. Cases of overbooking and turning off passengers are on a steady increase. Many a times it has been noticed that an adequate number of personnel are not posted to man check-in counters, which leads to chaos and subsequent delays.

As the committee recommended, the civil aviation ministry should take steps on an urgent basis to ensure that the passenger does not spend more than 10 minutes in a check-in queue. The ministry could stipulate a rule that whenever there is a rush of passengers, additional staff is deputed at check-in counters. Airports Authority of India and other operators should provide more check-in counters and self-checking kiosks at airports.