Sinha goes social to address flyers’ complaints

NEW DELHI: Lost baggage, stinking airport toilets or airlines overcharging passengers are common problems for domestic flyers, redressal for which can take weeks,

NEW DELHI: Lost baggage, stinking airport toilets or airlines overcharging passengers are common problems for domestic flyers, redressal for which can take weeks, sometimes even months.

HT Image

But things are changing fast. Help and quick assistance is now just a tweet away.

Jayant Sinha, the new minister of state for civil aviation, has taken the social media route to connect with flyers by directing their queries and problems to airlines and airports, and asking them to help out.

The aviation sector, unlike Indian Railways, has a number of private players, but with the minister tweeting himself, airlines and airports have been quick to respond, much to the delight of passengers.

“I lose my baggage, I tweet, Minister Responds and Air India does the rest! This Govt works,” tweeted a passenger after Sinha’s intervention helped him get his baggage back. “Thank you. Tons of appreciation, for response. Happy to see things changing,” tweeted another flyer.

“It is our goal to be as responsive and helpful to passengers. We are mobilising all stakeholders to respond to customer queries,” Sinha told HT.

The “response” and “goodwill” that the speedy redressal mechanism has generated has made the aviation ministry think whether to institutionalise the system. “We are evaluating all channels that exist and exploring all models,” said another senior official.