DCGA instructs Air India to repair aircraft after passenger's complaint on social media

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA has asked Tata Group-owned Air India to repair its aircraft after a passenger on Monday took to social media to complain about the plane's shabby interiors, including a broken armrest, PTI reported.

On Monday, a passenger posted on social media a couple of pics of shabby interiors including a broken armrest of Air India's Airbus A320 aircraft with registration number VT-EDF, officials said.

As a result, the DGCA asked the airline to check and rectify the problem as soon as possible, they added.

The plane would be in Kolkata on Monday night and the repair works will be done during that time, they said.

Air India did not respond to PTI's request for a statement on this matter.

This comes days after the DCGA grounded a SpiceJet aircraft over a passenger's complaint of dirty seats and malfunctioning cabin panels. The SpiceJet plane took to the skies a day later after all the suggested repairs were effected.

The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27, after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year.

A DGCA circular issued on April 19 said Air India has lost its preferential access to bilateral rights that are needed to operate flights to another country.

Air India, as a government-owned national carrier than, had preferential access to bilateral rights, which are granted under air services agreements signed between two countries.

For the airlines of a particular country to operate international flights to another country, the two sides have to negotiate and sign a "bilateral air services agreement", which decides how many flights (or seats) per week can be allowed to fly from one country to the other.