Union Agriculture Minister and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has criticised Air India’s service, describing it as “unethical” after being allotted a broken seat on a flight from Bhopal to Delhi. The airline later issued an apology.
Chouhan took to social media to express his dissatisfaction, recounting his experience on Air India flight AI436. He stated that he was assigned seat 8C, which was “broken and sunken in,” making it highly uncomfortable.
In his post, Chouhan elaborated, “When I asked the airline staff why the seat was allotted to me if it was bad, they told me that the management had been informed earlier that this seat was not good and its ticket should not be sold. There is not just one seat but many more. My co-passengers requested me to change my seat and sit on a better seat but why should I trouble another friend for my sake, I decided that I would complete my journey by sitting on this same seat.”
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The minister further questioned the airline’s management, remarking, “My impression was that Air India's service would have improved after Tata took over the management, but it turned out to be my misconception. 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 urged Air India to take corrective measures to ensure passengers do not face similar inconveniences in the future, asking, “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?”
In response, Air India issued an apology via social media, stating, “Dear Sir, we apologize 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 incident has once again raised questions about the national carrier’s service quality, particularly under its new management.
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