By IANS,
New Delhi : The civil aviation ministry Wednesday asked air operators to appoint an ombudsman by August 1 – the deadline set by the government earlier – which will provide a forum for the passengers to air their grievances.
Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters after meeting airline operators here that the airlines have been asked to appoint ombudsman so that the complaints and grievances would be addressed by an independent agency.
“The deadline is Aug 1 for the air operators to appoint the ombudsman,” said Chawla. Ombudsman is an authority which will look into complaints and act as an arbitrator for settlements between the consumers and airlines.
Chawla added that the performance navigation system would come into force at Mumbai and Delhi airports by Aug 1. These airports witness delays due to heavy air traffic.
The system is being put in place so that time taken for an aircraft to land even in heavy traffic would be reduced by at least half-an-hour or more, he said.