Passengers had no complaints: Air India

Kochi, October 6: Flights to various destinations in West Asia from the State had to be cancelled due to reasons beyond the control of the management, according to an affidavit filed by Air India (AI) before the Kerala High Court.

The affidavit was filed in response to a writ moved by the Centre for Non-resident Indians and Returnees (CNIR) against cancellation of flights. In the affidavit, Air India said that if flights were cancelled on account of reasons beyond the control of its management, passengers would be informed about flight cancellations.

The passengers of the cancelled flights would be provided transportation facilities by road or hotel accommodation without any additional charge or ticket rebooked for another date or refunded the fares or provided alternative flights to their destinations.

In fact, four flights from Kozhikode, six from Thiruvananthapuram, and one from Kochi had to be cancelled from September 17 to 28 due to reasons beyond the control of the management. In fact, passengers were provided alternative flights to their destinations or rebooked tickets for another date without any additional charge or provided hotel accommodation. No passnger had raised any complaint regarding flight cancellations. All had accepted the offer of the airline. The cancel led flight had resumed its operation from September 29.

According to the petitioner, passengers to various destinations of West Asia had to face severe hardships because of immediate cancellations of flights without prior notice.