Aviation ministry sets up 24x7 control room for passenger assistance
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New Delhi: To ensure quicker resolution of air travellers’ grievances, the Civil Aviation Ministry has set up the Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR), operational round-the-clock to address passenger issues promptly.
The control room is staffed by officials from the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airlines, and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The team monitors operations, attends to passenger calls, and coordinates real-time assistance to ensure timely resolution.
Operationalised on December 10 following disruptions at IndiGo and other flight delays caused by fog and operational issues, the PACR aims to streamline grievance redressal.
Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the initiative has led to a marked improvement in addressing passenger complaints, with a positive response from air travellers and stakeholders. He added that grievances raised through multiple channels are now being resolved promptly through close coordination with airline representatives.
“Over 13,000 passenger grievances, received via AirSewa, social media, and call channels, have been resolved, with cases expedited and prioritised through close monitoring at the PACR,” Sinha said.
During a visit to the PACR on Sunday, officials shared their experiences. Complaints range from flight cancellations and lost baggage to meals not being served onboard.
IndiGo’s Director of Customer Experience, Pratik Arjun Sen, said passenger queries are diverse, and the team strives to resolve them at the earliest. Since earlier disruptions this month, the customer experience team has worked extensively on ticket refunds and other issues, showing significant improvement.
Ajeet Tiwari, Assistant Manager of Operations at SpiceJet, noted that flight delays are among the most common grievances and that the workflow at the centre ensures smooth resolution.
Lisa Agarwal, part of the Customer Happiness Team at Air India Express, said the grievances also include lost or damaged baggage and onboard meal issues. She added that complaints are generally resolved within 72 hours of being received.
Shahbaj Alam, Senior Customer Service Agent at Akasa Air, highlighted that queries mainly relate to service issues, flight cancellations, and ticket refunds, with the centre handling around 15–16 queries daily.
Ministry official Ravneet Kaur noted that enquiries largely concern ticket refunds and lost baggage, and all complaints are addressed promptly at the 24x7 centre.
Sinha emphasised that persistent issues such as frequent flight delays, delayed or inadequate refunds, long queues, poor airport facilities, and lost baggage have affected passenger experience across the aviation ecosystem. “These concerns highlighted the need for a structured, systematic, and coordinated response rather than ad-hoc interventions,” he said.
The PACR demonstrates the ministry’s commitment to providing a coordinated, round-the-clock solution to passenger grievances across India’s aviation sector.
With PTI inputs