The usual tendency among airlines is to dismiss cases of baggage violations as `stray incidents' and a `thing of the past'. But not any longer: According to statistics released by the Union civil aviation ministry, an average of 2,200 cases of loss/theft of checked-in baggage are reported yearly by scheduled domestic airlines across the country.
Coming at a time when domestic air traffic is seeing a rising growth trajectory (especially the 24 per cent growth clocked this year), the ministry's revelation has set alarm bells ringing. While the number of complaints pertaining to misplaced/theft of baggage reported by domestic airlines was a whopping 2,626 in 2013, it was 2,244 in 2014 and 2,403 in 2015. However, there is no separate date for loss of or theft of baggage as airlines usually fuse such complaints in the same category.
While the ministry maintains that the loss/theft of checked-in baggage in the domestic air sector is a matter of grave concern, passenger-rights activists are shocked by the around 2,200 complaints. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) national president D Sudhakar Reddy said, "About two thousand cases related to baggage in the domestic sector is indeed too high. I cannot understand how so many complaints are cropping up in this age where cameras and high-tech surveillance are an integral part of airport security." APAI is a Chennai head-quartered non-profit organisation that works in the sphere of safeguarding the rights of air passengers.
Reddy added, "Nearly 80-85 per cent of the air passengers in the domestic sector travel from point A to B and the scope for taking connecting flights is minimal. In such a scenario, the chances of baggage loss has to be very less. We understand the situation with regard to international travel, but the issue requires serious introspection with regard to the domestic sector."
05/04/16 Rakesh Prakash/Bangalore Mirror
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Coming at a time when domestic air traffic is seeing a rising growth trajectory (especially the 24 per cent growth clocked this year), the ministry's revelation has set alarm bells ringing. While the number of complaints pertaining to misplaced/theft of baggage reported by domestic airlines was a whopping 2,626 in 2013, it was 2,244 in 2014 and 2,403 in 2015. However, there is no separate date for loss of or theft of baggage as airlines usually fuse such complaints in the same category.
While the ministry maintains that the loss/theft of checked-in baggage in the domestic air sector is a matter of grave concern, passenger-rights activists are shocked by the around 2,200 complaints. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) national president D Sudhakar Reddy said, "About two thousand cases related to baggage in the domestic sector is indeed too high. I cannot understand how so many complaints are cropping up in this age where cameras and high-tech surveillance are an integral part of airport security." APAI is a Chennai head-quartered non-profit organisation that works in the sphere of safeguarding the rights of air passengers.
Reddy added, "Nearly 80-85 per cent of the air passengers in the domestic sector travel from point A to B and the scope for taking connecting flights is minimal. In such a scenario, the chances of baggage loss has to be very less. We understand the situation with regard to international travel, but the issue requires serious introspection with regard to the domestic sector."
05/04/16 Rakesh Prakash/Bangalore Mirror
