Airline compensation law only on paper?

The absence of clear-cut rules about compensation that airlines should pay to customers in case of flight delays is acting as a boon in disguise for flight operators.
For instance, there is no rule to stipulate the amount of compensation to be paid by an airline if it defaults on payment to oil companies, resulting in curtailment of fuel supply to the airlines and eventual delay or cancellation of flights. This incongruity is adding to the woes of passengers.
On July 18, Air India and Kingfisher Airlines fights could not take off for two to four hours across the country due to shortage of fuel. The oil companies had apparently curtailed fuel supply to the defaulters, resulting in mass delay of flights.
To cap it all, the airlines neither informed its passengers about the development, nor they paid any compensation, making the most of porous compensation rules.
A city-based frequent flier who got stranded for at least two-and-a-half hours recently owing to the flight suspension told MiD DAY that they were not even informed about the reason behind the delay.
The Kingfisher airlines and Air India, which owe heavy dues to the oil companies, had to suspend their flight operations as the firms stopped fuel supply. The Kingfisher airline had to shut down its entire flight operations for at least two hours on July 18 because of depleted fuel supply.
02/08/11 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2011