Ombudsman for Mumbai airport soon, says civil aviation ministry

Nearly a year and a half after a special committee submitted a draft for the setting up of an ombudsmen for fliers at the Mumbai and Delhi airports, the government on Friday made an announcement that it will be implemented within the next few months.

Civil aviation secretary KN Shrivastava, in a meeting held with industry captains and senior airline officials in Delhi on Friday, made the announcement.

Commenting on the development, Sudhakar Reddy, president of the Air Passengers Association of India and a member of the committee that met on Friday, said, “It’s an excellent development, but has come rather late despite several reminders by me.”

According to Reddy, like any industry ombudsmen, this one will help in the redressing of fliers’ grievances. Once it is implemented in Mumbai and Delhi, the ombudsmen will be set up at other airports of the country.

Welcoming the decision, Arvind Raut, a frequent flier who resides in Ghatkopar, said, “Hopefully, it should start soon.”

In another development, the civil aviation ministry urged airlines to lower ticket cancellation and date change charges. According to government sources, Shrivastava requested airlines to have a graded system as per which a lower amount should  be charged for cancellation or change in date if it is done well ahead of the date of journey.

Jet Airways and Spice Jet last week increased charges for cancellation of tickets by around 40 per cent, raising concerns among passengers, who are already reeling under the recent air fare hike.

Airline sources claim that the decision to hike cancellation charges was taken after the sudden increase in cost of operations due to increasing fuel prices and depreciating rupee.