Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday criticized Air India for poor seat management after he was allotted a broken seat on a flight from Bhopal to Delhi. Taking to X, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister questioned whether the airline was deceiving passengers by charging full fares for faulty seats.
Chouhan recounted his experience, stating that he was assigned seat number 8C on Air India flight AI436. Upon sitting down, he found the seat to be broken and sunken, making it uncomfortable. When he inquired with the airline staff, they reportedly admitted that the management was aware of the issue and that the ticket for the seat should not have been sold.
Despite co-passengers offering to switch seats with him, Chouhan chose to remain in his assigned seat to avoid inconveniencing others. While he expressed personal indifference to the discomfort, he called it unethical for Air India to provide defective seating while charging passengers the full fare. “Isn’t this cheating the passengers?” he asked.
Chouhan further remarked that he had expected Air India’s services to improve under the Tata Group’s ownership but was left disappointed. He urged the airline to take corrective measures to ensure passengers do not face similar issues in the future, questioning whether Air India would address such concerns or continue exploiting travelers’ urgent need to reach their destinations.
In response, Air India apologized on X, assuring Chouhan that they were investigating the matter to prevent future occurrences. The airline also requested a direct message from him to discuss the issue further.
