Air India passenger complains about dirty cabin, broken armrest; DGCA orders repair

Aviation regulator DGCA has asked Tata Group-owned Air India to repair its aircraft after a passenger complained on social media about the plane's shabby interiors.

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After ordering SpiceJet to clean the plane before putting it on flying duty, India's aviation regulator DGCA has now asked Tata Group-owned Air India to repair its aircraft over a passenger complaint. A passenger flying on an Air India plane, had on Monday, posted photos of shabby interiors of Air India plane and complained about a broken armrest.

Following the complaint, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked the airline to check and rectify the problem as soon as possible. The passenger was flying on Air India's Airbus A320 aircraft with registration number VT-EDF, officials said.

Air India grounded the plane on Monday night after the flight reached Kolkata and the repair works were completed. Last week, an Air India flight was delayed as a rat was spotted inside a plane. 

DGCA, had last Wednesday grounded a SpiceJet aircraft over a passenger's complaint of dirty seats and malfunctioning cabin panels. The SpiceJet plane took to the skies a day later after all the suggested repairs were effected.

The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27, after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year. A DGCA circular issued on April 19 said Air India has lost its preferential access to bilateral rights that are needed to operate flights to another country.

Air India had preferential access to bilateral rights, which are granted under air services agreements signed between two countries, as it was the government-owned national carrier.

With inputs from PTI