The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined the state-run Indian carrier, Air India,
$80,000 for noncompliance with regulations. The airline failed to post
“customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website” and
“adequately inform passengers about its optional fees” by the required
date, a news release issued by the department said.
The department
introduced new airline consumer rules that took effect last August for
all foreign carriers flying to the United States with at least one
aircraft of 30 or more seats. This is the first penalty assessed for a
violation of the new rules, the news release said.
“Our new
airline consumer rules help ensure that passengers are fully informed
about airline services and fees and what to expect if their flight is
delayed on the tarmac,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on
Thursday. “We will continue to monitor carriers to make sure they comply
with our rules and take enforcement action when they do not.”
The rules were issued by the Department of Transportation on April 25, 2011, and were applicable begining Aug. 23, 2011.
The
news release also noted that U.S. carriers and foreign carriers with a
Web site that sells tickets to American consumers “have been required to
include on their homepage a prominent hyperlink that takes viewers
directly to a page that shows all fees for optional services the carrier
charges, including baggage fees.”
A consent order
issued by the department says that in “mitigation,” Air India stated
that “while it had uploaded its tarmac delay and customer service plans
to its website, they apparently did not properly appear due to a
technical problem that had to be repaired.”
The airline also told
the department that “fixing the website was delayed by the unfortunate
and unexpected death of the employee responsible for making the
changes.”
An Air India spokesman, K. Swaminathan, said the levying
of the fine was an old issue. A penalty of more than $80,000 for
noncompliance with rules was levied on Air India last year after the
rules came into effect, he said, adding, “We are now complying with the
new rules.”
He noted that the fine of $80,000 was a reduced
penalty imposed by the U.S. Transportation Department after it conducted
a review of Air India, which had claimed that it was honoring the new
rules.
The Enforcement Office and Air India “have reached a
settlement of this matter in order to avoid litigation,” the consent
order says. It also mentions that “without admitting or denying the
violations,” the carrier consents to the “issuance of this order to
cease and desist from future violations” of these rules.
Of the
$80,000 penalty, $40,000 is due and payable within 30 days of the
issuance of the order. “The remaining $40,000 shall be due and payable
immediately if Air India, Limited, violates this order’s cease and
desist or payment provisions within one year of the issuance of this
order.”
The order states that it will become a “final order of the
Department 10 days after its service date unless a timely petition for
review is filed or the Department takes review on its own motion.”
“We have not decided whether to appeal further” or whether to take any additional steps, Mr. Swaminathan said.
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The DRDO chief said the Indian missile defence system is comparable
with the US Patriot 3 system, which was successfully used during the
1990 Gulf War against Iraq. 
