On a recent flight from Bhopal to Delhi, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his dissatisfaction with Air India after being allotted a broken seat. This brought to light issues regarding mismanagement within the airline's seat arrangements, which Chouhan publicly criticized as a potential form of cheating passengers.

Incident on Air India Flight

During his journey, Shivraj Singh Chouhan encountered an uncomfortable situation when he was assigned a problematic seat. In a post on X, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister stated, “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.”

Passenger Treatment and Airline’s Response

Chouhan revealed that upon questioning the airline staff about the condition of his seat, he was informed that the management was aware of the situation, and the ticket for the seat was not supposed to be sold. Despite his co-passengers offering him the chance to switch seats, Chouhan chose to remain in his designated place to avoid inconveniencing others.

Expressing his disbelief, he further remarked, “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?”

Expectations from Air India Post-Takeover

Chouhan had anticipated an improvement in Air India's service quality post-takeover by the Tata Group but said he was proven otherwise. He questioned 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's Official Apology

Following the incident, Air India promptly issued a statement expressing regret over Chouhan's experience. An Air India spokesperson commented, “Air India deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to Hon'ble Union Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan ji on his flight from Bhopal to Delhi.”

The spokesperson further assured, “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.”