Inform passengers on flights delays over 30 minutes, gate change by SMS: DGCA to airlines

PITHORAGARH: Airlines will now need to inform passengers about flight delays over half an hour and also of last-minute gate changes at departure terminals by SMS (short message service). Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Kumar on Friday issued a number of passenger-friendly directives for strict implementation by airlines.
“Airlines should make all efforts to send SMS in case there is a delay in flight beyond 30 minutes or a boarding gate change has taken place at the airport. Airlines must send repeated SMS after every 30 minutes to keep the passengers updated for the flight delay, cancellation / boarding gate change,” DGCA said in a directive to airlines.
The order comes ahead of winter schedule when flight delays in north Indian airports like those at Delhi, Amritsar and Lucknow begin due to visibility issues. Once delayed here, the aircraft then has consequential delays on all sectors it has to operate that day. Hence, Kumar had called a meeting with airlines ahead of winter to minimise passenger woes.