More than 56K flights cancelled in 5 years, average compensation Rs 200

Though 56,607 scheduled flights have been cancelled in the last five years from 2017 with over 16,40,332 passengers affected, the total compensation amount is only Rs 31.83 crore. The average compensation per passenger affected by disruption was less than Rs 200 per passenger.

Responding to questions raised by CPI MP Binoy Viswam, Ministry of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said that the major reasons for cancellations of flights were due to technical, operational, weather, commercial and other miscellaneous reasons.

Of the airlines that have been cancelled, Air India has reported 580 flight cancellations in just one and a half years since privatisation in 2022. In the first six months of 2023, until June 2023, Indigo has cancelled the maximum number of flights (1,713), most of which were in January (1025).

Criticising the civil aviation ministry, Viswam said the recurring issue of cancellations raises serious questions about the efficiency and reliability of our nation's airlines and their commitment to the citizens they serve.

“The government's response has raised concerning questions. But, the ministry has offered only a surface-level explanation of these cancellations, attributing them to technical, operational, weather, commercial, and other unspecified reasons. This non-specific explanation is woefully inadequate, considering the scale of the issue and the inconvenience caused to the passengers,” added Viswam.