Recently, P. Chidambaram, a senior Congress leader, said that the passenger service has recently failed even after Air India has been privatized and handed over to the Tata Group.
Chidambaram tweeted his experience on the social media after the flight of Delhi to Chennai where he pointed to disorganization at the boarding gate. He said that while passengers who were cleared to board flight AI 540 waited for the aircraft to arrive to board the aircraft; they were all receiving treatment for poor health, diabetes, hypertension and other diseases patiently waiting on the aerobridge for about 15minutes.
AI 540 Delhi to Chennai, scheduled to depart at 20.45 hours, is pushing back at 21.25 hours and will take off shortly
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 5, 2024
He also reported the delay after posting in X: “All passengers on flight AI 540 are standing on the aerobridge for the last 15 minutes.” Boarding for the 8:40 minutes delayed Flight BA 45 PM did not even start boarding 45 PM and began a mere ten minutes past the scheduled time, the plane only pushed back at 9:25 PM.
When it comes to Air India’s service standards, Chidambaram said “there has been no appreciable improvement since the government handed over the reins to the private players.” He questioned the managerial capacity of the airline saying “I can name several factors that make flying a safer experience provided competent management is applied.” The first idea that I think can bring competitive advantage for Air India is that this giant airline does not have competent managers on different levels.
Chidambaram’s observations come at a time when complaints against Air India have been made recently. Ricky Kej, a Grammy Award-winning musician, says he once faced a 30-minute check-in aggravation because the airline would not accept UPI payments at some counters. Also, a passenger traveling from Delhi to New York complained of finding a cockroach in the meal served on the flight and thus concerns of hygiene have not left Air India.
