Passengers deserve real answers, not just claims — Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

NEW DELHI — Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has raised serious concerns over the Civil Aviation Ministry's handling of passenger complaints, questioning the Union government's claim that 97 per cent of grievances have been addressed. 

In a post on Thursday on social media platform X, Tharoor said the Ministry has failed to clearly explain what it means by "addressed" and whether complaints are actually resolved to the satisfaction of passengers or simply acknowledged.

He added that while the Ministry highlights a high grievance disposal rate, it has not shared details on the quality or outcome of these resolutions.

"While the Civil Aviation Ministry claims that 97 per cent of grievances have been addressed, it has not disclosed what 'addressed' actually entails: whether resolved to passenger satisfaction or merely acknowledged," Tharoor said.

He added that there is no clarity on whether passengers' problems are genuinely solved or if the complaints are closed without meaningful action.

He also expressed concern over the lack of a fast-track system for urgent complaints.

According to Tharoor, even after being specifically asked about grievances that cannot wait for 72 hours, the Ministry has not outlined any special protocol, escalation mechanism, or time-bound benchmarks.

This, he said, raises questions about how enforceable and effective the grievance redressal system really is.

The Congress leader also criticised the Union government for not making public airline-wise complaint data.

He said there is no information on penalties imposed on airlines, regulatory action taken, or performance targets set to improve passenger services.

Without such transparency, he noted, it is difficult to hold airlines or regulators accountable.

Tharoor said the Centre must publish complete data on complaints and pending cases, create clear and enforceable escalation procedures, and introduce transparent accountability standards.