'Cheating passengers': Shivraj Singh Chouhan slams Air India after being allotted broken seat, airline responds

Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was allotted a broken seat for which the ticket was not supposed to be sold on an Air India flight today

Updated on: Feb 22, 2025, 15:41:36 IST

By HT News Desk

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Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday criticised Air India for mismanagement with seat arrangements after he was allotted a broken seat and questioned whether they were cheating passengers.

The union minister questioned whether Air India's management was cheating passengers with such treatment (Ritik Jain)

In a post on X, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said, “Today I had to come from Bhopal to Delhi, inaugurate the Kisan Mela in Pusa, hold a meeting of the Natural Farming Mission in Kurukshetra and discuss with the representatives of the Kisan Organisation in Chandigarh. I had booked a ticket on Air India flight number AI436, I was allotted seat number 8C. I went and sat on the seat, the seat was broken and sunken in. It was uncomfortable to sit.”

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He added that when he asked the airline staff about the seat allocated to him, they stated that the management was aware of the seat's condition and the ticket to the seat was not supposed to be sold.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan highlighted that while his co-passengers offered to change to change seats with him he decided to remain in the same seat and not inconvenience others.

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However, he said, "I don't care about sitting discomfort, but it is unethical to make passengers sit on bad and uncomfortable seats after charging them the full amount. Isn't this cheating the passengers?"

Chouhan said that he had expected Air India's service to have improved after a takeover by the Tata Group however he was proven otherwise.

He asked the airline, “Will the Air India management take steps to ensure that no passenger faces such inconvenience in future or will it continue to take advantage of the passengers' compulsion to reach their destination early?”

Air India issues statement

A spokesperson for Air India said that the airline deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

“Air India deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to Hon'ble Union Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan ji on his flight from Bhopal to Delhi,” an Air India spokesperson said.

“This does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide to our guests, and we are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter to ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” the spokesperson added.

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HT News Desk
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