E-Paper
Air passenger grievances surge this year, close to 2024 levels in just 6 months
As of June 2025, 3,925 complaints have been registered with DGCA, compared to 4,016 in the entire year of 2024, civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu told parliament on Monday
New Delhi: The number of passenger complaints filed with the civil aviation regulator— the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)— in 2025 has reached nearly 98% of the total complaints recorded in all of 2024.
As of June 2025, 3,925 complaints have been registered, compared to 4,016 in the entire year of 2024, civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu told parliament on Monday.
In a written reply to a query raised by member of Parliament (MP) Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik, Naidu, sharing a year-wise data of complaints received by DGCA since 2021-22, stated that a total of 3,925 complaints were filed in 2025 (up to June), compared to 4,016 in 2024 and 5,513 in 2023. The number stood at 4,131 in 2021 and 3,783 in 2022.
The reply also included the number of technical defects in aircraft in the same period indicating that, as of June this year, the number of technical defects reported has already reached 43% of the total recorded in 2024.
As per the data, 183 defects have been reported this year up to June, compared to 421 in 2024 and 448 in 2023. The number of reported defects was 514 in 2021 and 528 in 2022.
The written reply also stated that a total of 2,094 investigations have been carried out against serious defects or snags reported during the last five years (up to June 2025).
Naidu stated that all aircraft operators have a system in their organisation to ensure that all defects, minor or others, whether reported by flight crew or observed by maintenance crew are recorded and investigated for taking appropriate rectification action. All defects which are serious in nature are intimated immediately by all operators to DGCA.
Stating the steps taken by the government to strengthen safety in light of the recent Air India tragedy that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad after the B787 crashed moments after take-off, Naidu’s reply said, “DGCA has comprehensive and structured civil aviation regulations for safe operation of aircraft and its maintenance. These regulations are continuously updated and aligned with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)/European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards. Post-accident, DGCA enhanced the check and inspection of the critical component of safety assurance in order to identify and rectify immediate systemic issues.”
