In Graphics | Long delays and few refunds: A look at India's soaring aviation sector & turbulent consumer experience

The Indian aviation sector is growing to incredible heights. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) report, Indian airlines carried a whopping 152 million passengers in 2023. The amount of air traffic observed in the previous year was 23 per cent greater than in 2022 and over five per cent more than in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. In the ten years since 2013, air traffic has increased by more than 147 per cent. With 13.8 million passengers in December, the industry reached a new milestone for monthly air traffic. This is 8.3 per cent more than the same month a year earlier and six per cent higher than the pre-COVID year of 2019. The previous record was in May 2023 at 13.2 million passengers. In terms of capacity utilisation or passenger load factor for December, Akasa Air ranked highest at 93.9 per cent, up from 89.2 per cent in November. SpiceJet followed at 93.5 per cent, down from 90.8 per cent the month before. Air India was at 88.2 per cent in December as opposed to 84.8 per cent in November, and IndiGo was at 90.7 per cent as opposed to 85.6 per cent in November. However, along with the number of travellers, passenger complaints regarding facilities, delays, and other inconveniences have also increased. The report stated that during December 2023, a total of 712 passenger-related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for December 2023 has been around 0.52. The major reasons for complaints are flight problems and refunds. Out of 721 complaints received by airlines, 705 (approximately 99 per cent) have been addressed. The report further reads that the maximum number of complaints were received by Spicejet (422) followed by Air India (68) and Indigo (65). Out of 347 complaints that were received, all have been addressed except seven complaints that are pending three each with Star Air and Alliance Air and one with Air India. In the past few days, social media was replete with posts by passengers complaining about long delays, fog-induced disruptions, and lack of preparedness. In one incident, a passenger even attacked an IndiGo pilot. Let’s take a closer look.

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