India: Record number of ticket holders denied boarding in November as airlines overbook

More than 2,100 domestic fliers were not allowed to board aircraft despite having valid boarding cards in November, the highest number this year, showed the aviation safety regulator’s data. This happened primarily because most flights were overbooked. The cases were also a few hundred more than those recorded during the same time last year, the data revealed. Airlines are permitted to sell seats up to 15% above a plane’s capacity. But the spike in the number of passengers denied boarding during vacations indicated gross wrong estimation by airlines. In August, the civil aviation ministry raised the compensation for fliers denied a seat by 5 times, but that has failed to discipline airlines ostensibly owing to gaps in the implementation of the policy. <br/>