Akasa Air Fined ₹10 Lakh by DGCA for Failing to Compensate Passengers

Akasa Air Fined ₹10 Lakh by DGCA: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has slapped a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Akasa Air for not compensating seven passengers who were denied boarding on a Bengaluru-Pune flight.

The incident occurred on Sept. 6 when flight QP 1437, scheduled to depart from the Kempegowda International Airport at 8:50 p.m.

The flight was delayed after the aircraft was grounded due to foreign object damage, and a replacement plane with nine inoperable seats was provided.

As a result, seven passengers could not board. Though an alternative flight was arranged, the airline did not offer compensation to the affected passengers, which the DGCA found a breach of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section-3, Series M, Part IV.

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An Akasa Air spokesperson said, “We acknowledge receipt of an order by the DGCA dated December 24, 2024. We continue to work closely with the DGCA to address this matter and enhance our protocols as required by the regulator.”

The recent incident has contributed to the growing scrutiny that Akasa is facing from the aviation regulator. Last week, the airline was notified of errors in aircraft maintenance and certification, as well as being issued a show cause notice for not updating its operations manual promptly.

On December 9, the DGCA issued a show cause notice to Akasa’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) following an inspection on August 30th at Bangalore International Airport. The inspection revealed that the right-hand nose wheel tire pressure indicator sensor on aircraft VT-YAY had been improperly reinstalled without being securely locked by the certifying staff.

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Later, the passengers were moved to an Indigo flight with a scheduled departure time of 2240 hours which was more than one hour of the scheduled departure time of the actual Akasa flight.

The source said that no compensation was paid to the passengers which was non-compliance with DGCA norms.

However, if the delay exceeds one hour, the airline must pay a compensation of up to Rs 10,000. If the passenger refuses to take the alternative flight, the airline pays a compensation of up to Rs 20,000. In this case, Akasa Air should have paid Rs 10,000 to each of the affected passengers.

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