‘Cheating passengers, taking advantage of people’: Shivraj Singh Chouhan slams Air India for ‘broken seat’ | India News – The Times of India

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan criticised Air India for its poor service after experiencing an uncomfortable journey on a broken seat during a flight from Bhopal to Delhi on Saturday.
Taking to social media platform X, Chouhan shared his ordeal, questioning the airline’s management over passenger safety and comfort.
In his post, Chouhan stated that he was travelling on Air India flight AI436 and was assigned seat 8C. Upon sitting, he realised the seat was broken and sunken in, making it extremely uncomfortable.

“When I asked the airline staff why such a faulty seat was allocated, they told me that the management had already been informed that this seat was unfit for use and should not have been sold,” he wrote.
The minister further mentioned that the issue was not limited to just his seat. “There are several such seats on the aircraft,” he added.
Despite fellow passengers offering to swap seats, Chouhan declined, stating, “Why should I cause discomfort to another traveller? I decided to complete my journey in the same seat.”
Expressing disappointment, Chouhan wrote that he had assumed Air India’s services had improved under Tata Group’s management but his experience proved otherwise. He called it “unethical” for the airline to charge full fare while providing defective seats, questioning whether this amounted to “cheating passengers.”
He urged Air India to take corrective action to prevent such issues for future travellers. “Will the management take steps to ensure no other passenger faces this discomfort, or will it continue taking advantage of people’s urgency to reach their destinations?” he asked.
Following his post, Air India responded, apologising for the inconvenience. “Dear Sir, we apologise for the inconvenience caused. Please be rest assured that we are looking into this matter carefully to prevent any such occurrences in the future. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, kindly DM us a convenient time to connect,” the airline wrote in its reply.

Congress attacks BJP over governance
Reacting to Chouhan’s post, the Congress party criticised the Modi government, blaming it for the declining state of various sectors, including aviation and railways.
Replying to Chouhan, Congress wrote, “The Modi government has ruined every sector. Train passengers are suffering. Air travellers are facing issues. People keep complaining, recording videos, but no action is taken.”
The party further took a dig at the government, stating, “Now that Shivraj Ji has faced trouble, he is tweeting about it. Maybe this time, action will be taken. But the situation will not improve because any system is fixed from the top. And at the top, they are too busy beating the drum of ‘everything is fine’ while people continue to suffer.”

Tata Group officially took over Air India from the Indian government on January 27, 2022, nearly 69 years after it was nationalised in 1953.
The takeover aimed to revive the airline’s operations, improve service quality, and modernise its fleet to restore its position as a world-class carrier.
Since the acquisition, Tata Group has initiated several reforms, including merging Vistara with Air India, revamping customer service, upgrading aircraft interiors and placing historic orders for new aircraft.
However, challenges like operational inefficiencies, ageing aircraft, and customer service complaints continue to affect the airline’s reputation as it undergoes transformation.