New Delhi: A social media post by a lawyer accusing IndiGo of forcing his three-year-old child to sit separately during a flight has triggered a fresh debate over airline seat allocation policies and passenger rights in India.
Gaurav Mishra, who shared his experience on LinkedIn, alleged that the airline separated his family during a flight from Bagdogra to Kolkata despite bookings being made under the same Passenger Name Record (PNR).
In his post, Mishra claimed the airline assigned "random jumbled seats" unless passengers paid extra for seat selection, calling the practice a violation of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules and an "unfair trade practice".
"Indigo forced my 3-year-old kid to travel alone in seat because their parents didn’t pay extra for seat selection," Mishra wrote in the post.
The lawyer further cited Rule 3.15 of the DGCA’s Air Transport Circular 01 of 2024, issued on April 23, 2024, which states that airlines "shall ensure that children up to the age of 12 years are allocated seats with at least one of their parents or guardians travelling on the same PNR."
Mishra alleged that despite paying around Rs 43,900 for three tickets, including a connecting journey, the family was not seated together. He said the experience caused "mental agony" and emotional distress to the child, and reserved his right to seek compensation.
The LinkedIn post also included screenshots of DGCA regulations related to unbundled services and passenger seating norms. The circular allows airlines to charge separately for optional services such as preferred seat selection, but also gives the DGCA authority to intervene if principles of transparency, opt-in choice and non-discrimination are violated.
13/05/2026 ETV Bharat
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