BENGALURU: A college student travelling from Bengaluru to New Delhi on Saturday to be with her family for vacation was denied boarding by Air India, for allegedly not carrying out a web check-in before reaching the airport. It appears to be a case of overbooking by the airline. The youngster was forced to cool her heels at the airport before she was accommodated on the next flight. Mrigya Varma, a second-year student at Shristi Institute of Art, Design and Technology, was booked on AI 505, which would depart at 10 am from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). She was travelling with her classmate from Bengaluru to Delhi.
Her father Anoop Varma, an entrepreneur in the organic farm business, said it was unfair that his daughter was denied boarding by Air India staffers, who cited a non-existent airline policy. He said, “My daughter was in the airport at 8 am, two hours before the departure of her flight. When she went to the Air India counter to collect her boarding pass, she was told that she had not done web check-in and so had to take the next flight. Her classmate, who had checked in online was issued a boarding pass,” he said. Mrigya was given a boarding pass for another flight to New Delhi, with a departure time of 1.20 pm. She contacted her father who called Air India counter staff.
Varma, a frequent traveller, called again stating there was no such policy. “Another staffer who answered the call told me that the Delhi flight was overbooked. So, passengers who had to travel on priority were only permitted on board,” he recalled. When Varma persisted by calling again, another staffer said that since she had already been given a boarding pass for the afternoon flight, it could not be changed again. Some more calls went answered.
An Air India spokesperson denied having any policy that makes web check-in mandatory. “It could have been a case of overbooking. Whenever there is a huge demand in any sector, airlines are permitted to overbook up to 10 per cent of the capacity (in case of 150 seater plane) due to high operating costs involved. If most of those who booked turn up, then those who have done a web check-in are given priority as they already have their seat numbers on hand,” he said.