Indian Minister of Agriculture, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has claimed that Air India sold him a ticket for a broken seat. On Saturday, February 22, he expressed his frustration in a post on the microblogging site X, accusing Air India of “deceiving passengers.”
According to his post, when he questioned a flight crew member about the broken seat, he was informed that the airline had already been notified about the issue and was instructed not to sell tickets for that seat.
He wrote, “I had to travel from Bhopal to Delhi to inaugurate the Pusa Krishi Mela, where I had discussions with various representatives. I booked a ticket on Air India flight AI436 and was assigned seat 8C. Upon sitting, I found that the seat was broken and leaning, making it uncomfortable.”
“When I asked the crew why I was given this seat despite it being broken, they said the issue had been reported earlier and that tickets for the seat were not supposed to be sold.”
The minister also claimed that there were multiple broken seats on the flight.
Other passengers offered him a better seat, but he declined, stating, “Fellow passengers requested me to switch to a good seat, but why should I inconvenience someone else for my comfort? I decided to remain seated there.”
He further expressed disappointment with Air India’s service under Tata’s ownership, stating, “I believed that Air India’s service would improve after Tata took over, but I was proven wrong.”
Criticizing the airline, he said, “I don’t mind the discomfort, but charging full fare while providing such a seat is unethical. Isn’t this deception?”
He urged Air India to take proper measures to prevent such situations for passengers in the future.
Air India has not commented on the incident.