Supriya Sule Criticizes Air India Over Delays: “Unacceptable, We Pay Premium Fares

Supriya Sule Criticizes Air India For Repeated Flight Delay

Criticising the service standards of Air India, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule vented her ire on social media on Saturday regarding what she called an “endlessly delayed” flight. She also requested strict action against airlines for repeated delays from Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu.

Sule, who was on board Air India flight AI0508, pointed out that her flight was delayed by 1 hour and 19 minutes. Complaining about her unpleasant experience, she said, “I was a passenger on the Air India AI0508 which was delayed for 1 hour and 19 minutes — an ongoing trend of continuous delays and cancellations hitting passengers. Not acceptable. Appeal to Hon‘ble Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu to implement strong rules to stop such repeated airline delays and initiate improved service level standards for travellers.”

She also faulted the airline, stating that repeated flight delays were a source of inconvenience to passengers. “We pay premium fares, but flights are never on time. Professionals, children, and senior citizens — all are victimized by this continuous mismanagement,” she said.

Air India has not responded to Sule‘s statement.

Air India Faces Continued Criticism

This is not the first time the airline owned by Tata has been in the firing line. Last month, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill also slammed Air India for substandard service and uncooperative ground staff, terming their assistance “pathetic.”

Likewise, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also had a terrible experience recently flying with Air India. Chouhan, who had pre-reserved seat number 8C for his trip from Bhopal to New Delhi, was greeted with the seat being broken and sunken. He labeled the incident as “cheating the passengers” and added that airline personnel admitted they already knew about the defect.

With increasing resentment from passengers and influential voices turning in their concern, demands for tighter regulations and better service quality within India’s aviation industry are getting shriller. It is unclear whether Air India will act on these complaints and make the necessary corrections.