Aviation ministry launches round-the-clock control room for passenger issues

The civil aviation ministry has set up a round-the-clock Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) to address air travellers’ grievances more promptly amid operational disruptions and flight delays.

Officials from the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airlines and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are working at the control room, which monitors operations, attends to passenger calls and coordinates real-time assistance.

The PACR was operationalised on December 10 following operational disruptions at IndiGo. The move also comes amid flight disruptions and delays caused by fog and other issues.

Elaborating on the initiative, Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said there has been a marked improvement in grievance redressal, with a positive response from air passengers and other stakeholders.

According to the ministry, air travellers’ grievances raised through various channels are being addressed through the PACR in the national capital, enabling timely resolution through close coordination with airline representatives.

In a statement, Sinha said the collaborative approach ensures timely information dissemination, effective facilitation and prompt grievance redressal.

“Over 13,000 passenger grievances, received through AirSewa, social media and call channels, have been resolved, with cases expedited and prioritised through close monitoring at the Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR),” he said.

During a visit to the PACR on Sunday afternoon, members working at the control room shared their experiences. The complaints received range from flight cancellations and delays to lost baggage and meals not being served onboard.

IndiGo’s Director of Customer Experience, Pratik Arjun Sen, said there is a mixed bag of passenger queries and efforts are being made to resolve grievances at the earliest. He added that since the disruptions earlier this month, the customer experience team has been working to address issues, including ticket refunds, and there has been significant improvement.

Ajeet Tiwari, Assistant Manager of Operations at SpiceJet, said flight delays are among the grievances flagged by passengers and that the workflow at the centre is smooth, allowing issues to be addressed efficiently.

Lisa Agarwal from the Customer Happiness Team at Air India Express said grievances include lost or damaged baggage and meals not being served onboard flights. She added that complaints are sought to be resolved within 72 hours of receiving them.

Akasa Air’s Senior Customer Service Agent, Shahbaj Alam, said passenger queries are mainly related to service issues, flight cancellations and ticket refunds, with the airline receiving at least 15–16 queries daily at the centre.

Ravneet Kaur, an official from the civil aviation ministry, said enquiries are largely related to ticket refunds and lost baggage, and grievances are looked into promptly.

All officials are working at the control room, which operates 24×7.

In the statement, Sinha said issues such as frequent flight delays, inadequate or delayed refunds, long queues, poor passenger facilities at airports and incidents of lost baggage have continued to affect passenger experience across the aviation ecosystem.

“These concerns highlighted the need for a structured, systematic, and coordinated response rather than ad-hoc interventions,” he added.