The Consumer Affairs Ministry has warned airlines and online travel aggregators that cheat passengers by not showing every seat as paid. All of them show every seat as ‘Paid’ despite the ‘misleading claim’ of “free mandatory web check-in”. According to TOI news, even when they have confirmed tickets, passengers are denied boarding and refunds are delayed.
Nearly 10,000 complaints regarding airlines have been registered on the National Consumer Helpline in the last one year. NCH data shows that about 41% of complaints relate to airlines refusing refunds even after ticket cancellation. This is followed by complaints of lack of services (15%). About 5% of complaints relate to denial of boarding despite passengers holding valid tickets.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry has said that when denied boarding, passengers have to either cancel their journey or book new tickets at very high costs. Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh has said that so many complaints indicate that they are not resolved effectively.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh indicated that airlines were designing online interfaces in a way that “eliminates consumer discretion.” The department has said that such ‘misleading and deceptive conduct’ exploits the interests of consumers.
The ministry department of consumer affairs has said that such “deceptive and manipulative conduct by unfairly using dark patterns in online interfaces” exploits the interests of consumers. This is classified as an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act.