Political heavyweight slams Air India over broken seat allocation; airline apologizes

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Feb 22 slammed Air India for mismanagement after being allotted a broken seat on a flight from Bhopal to Delhi — a seat that, according to airline staff, should not have been sold.

Taking to X, Chouhan, who is also the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister detailed his packed schedule for the day, including inaugurating the Kisan Mela in Pusa and attending key meetings in Kurukshetra and Chandigarh. However, upon boarding Air India flight AI436 and taking seat 8C, he found it to be broken and sunken, making it highly uncomfortable.

Chouhan stated that when he inquired with the airline staff, they admitted that the management was aware of the issue and that the seat was not meant to be assigned. Despite co-passengers offering to switch seats, he chose to remain in his assigned spot to avoid inconveniencing others.

"I don’t mind discomfort, but charging passengers full fare for defective seats is unethical. Isn’t this outright cheating?" he questioned.

“Will the Air India management take steps to ensure that no passenger faces such inconvenience in the future or will it continue to take advantage of the passengers' compulsion to reach their destination early?” he asked.

Expressing disappointment, Chouhan remarked that he had expected improved service from Air India under Tata Group’s ownership but was left disillusioned. He urged the airline to take corrective measures to prevent such incidents rather than exploiting passengers who rely on timely travel.

Air India apologizes

In response, an Air India spokesperson issued an apology, stating, “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji. This does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide, and we are conducting a thorough investigation to ensure such incidents do not recur.”