SC reprieve for airline manual

Chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan stayed till April 2 a national consumer grievances resolution forum’s order asking Air India (AI) to publicise its duties to passengers, including information about flight delays and availability of refreshment for passengers.

AI has sought the court’s intervention in deciding whether the
‘Manual for Passenger Service’ — an internal guideline for staff to ensure passengers’ safe and comfortable journey — is a public document. In its interim orders on July 23 and August 22, the forum asked AI to publicise regulations in  the manual at prominent places in every airport of the country.

The commission had proposed so on a complaint by passenger Ajay Kaila and his family, who had a harrowing experience when they boarded a Dubai-Delhi AI flight on January 2, 2008 . When they reached Dubai airport, they were told the flight was three hours late.
When their flight landed at Mumbai, they were told that the connecting flight to Delhi was late by five hours. The scheduled time for the Dubai-Delhi flight was three hours.

Moreover, in Mumbai, the passengers waited in the lounge for over 24 hours without food or accommodation.

Annoyed, Kaila approached the commission and claimed a compensation of Rs4.8 lakh for each passenger booked on the said flight. The commission’s president, MB Shah, a former Supreme

Court judge, did not pass any direction against AI, but asked the airline to publicise guidelines regarding flight delays so that passengers could be in the know.