Ahmedabad: Gujarat Congress Chief and Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil today questioned Air India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation after the airline downgraded a business class passenger to economy class on its Delhi-Mumbai flight on Tuesday. The airline, in a handwritten note, stated that the downgrade was to accommodate a captain traveling on duty.

Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), tagged the Union Civil Aviation Minister and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and said, “Can any airline have such a policy where a passenger, after paying full price for a business class ticket and receiving a boarding pass, is downgraded to economy by airline staff? On 19/11/24, this happened to a Gujarati, Mr. Sudhanshubhai Mehta, on Air India flight AI 531 from Delhi to Ahmedabad. I do not have any personal acquaintance with this passenger, but I am raising this issue as part of my duty, as I find it unfair. This passenger was told that the business class was full and that his allocated seat was damaged, so he had to sit in economy class. However, upon boarding, he found someone else occupying his business class seat, and the seat was not damaged.”

“When he protested and insisted on his seat, the commercial staff stated that it was company policy to downgrade passengers when an airline employee needs to travel on duty. After much discussion, this was even given in writing by the staff, a copy of which is attached herewith. Can any airline make such a one-sided policy? Has the government approved such a practice? If a passenger has not requested compensation and simply wants the seat they paid for, why can they be downgraded without consent at the last moment? Does the airline not have a duty to its customers? If there is illness or some special reason, it is understandable, but why should a paying passenger give up their seat for an airline employee? I request the government take appropriate action to ensure that no sick, elderly, or other passengers face such issues in the future,” the tweet further reads.

श्री @RamMNK @MoCA_GoI क्या कोई एयरलाइन ऐसी नीति बना सकती है ? जहां एक यात्री बिजनेस क्लास टिकट के लिए पूरी कीमत चुकाता है और बोर्डिंग पास प्राप्त करता है, फिर एयरलाइन कर्मचारी यात्री को डाउनग्रेड कर इकोनॉमी में भेज देते हैं?
कल दिनांक 19/11/24 को @airindia एयर इंडिया की दिल्ली… pic.twitter.com/S02Src8auT

— Shaktisinh Gohil MP (@shaktisinhgohil) November 20, 2024

In response to this post, Air India replied, “Dear Sir, we apologize for the inconvenience Mr. Sudhanshubhai Mehta experienced. This does not reflect our commitment to customer service. We take this seriously and will investigate to ensure fair treatment for all passengers. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.” DeshGujarat