High court for grievance redressal policy for Air India

KOCHI: The suggestion by a division bench comprising justices K T Sankaran and M L Joseph Francis came while considering a case, which was registered suo motu on the basis of a letter written by a passenger citing hardships faced by them. It was pointed out in the letter that criminal cases were registered against passengers who protested the delay and diversion of a Kochi-bound flight from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram in 2012.
Upon landing in Thiruvananthapuram on October 19, 2012, the pilot, Rupali Waghamare, had sounded a hijack alert and police had registered criminal cases against passengers based on the pilot's complaint.
In an order issued on Friday, the division bench of the high court said an urgent meeting should be convened by the ministry of civil aviation to form a policy for expanding the facilities and addressing the grievances of Air India passengers.
The policy should address both short and long-term requirements and a high-level meeting should be convened for this. The meeting should be represented by director general of civil aviation, authorities of Cochin International Airport Ltd, state government, and air passengers' associations, the court directed.
The committee should consider the question why Air India is not providing good facilities to passengers and what steps should be taken to ensure such facilities, the court said.
The suggestion by a division bench comprising justices K T Sankaran and M L Joseph Francis came while considering a case, which was registered suo motu on the basis of a letter written by a passenger citing hardships faced by them. It was pointed out in the letter that criminal cases were registered against passengers who protested the delay and diversion of a Kochi-bound flight from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram in 2012.
Upon landing in Thiruvananthapuram on October 19, 2012, the pilot, Rupali Waghamare, had sounded a hijack alert and police had registered criminal cases against passengers based on the pilot's complaint.
In an order issued on Friday, the division bench of the high court said an urgent meeting should be convened by the ministry of civil aviation to form a policy for expanding the facilities and addressing the grievances of Air India passengers.
The policy should address both short and long-term requirements and a high-level meeting should be convened for this. The meeting should be represented by director general of civil aviation, authorities of Cochin International Airport Ltd, state government, and air passengers' associations, the court directed.
The committee should consider the question why Air India is not providing good facilities to passengers and what steps should be taken to ensure such facilities, the court said.