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ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA
On December 19, an off-duty Air India Express pilot allegedly assaulted a passenger at the Delhi airport, drawing renewed attention to passenger complaints in India’s aviation sector. From 2021 to October 2025, 36,501 complaints were filed against airlines, with 4.3 per cent linked to staff behaviour. As of 2024-25 (FY25), India’s aviation workforce stood at 94,920, of whom 13.5 per cent were pilots.
Flight problems leading cause of complaints
Passenger complaints rose sharply from 5,321 in 2021 to 11,109 in 2025 (as of October). Within this period, problems related to flight delays, cancellations, and denied boarding climbed from