PUNE: Flyers finding out that their baggage is missing while travelling is common - but Nagpur resident Sagarika Patnaik found half her seat missing in an aircraft.Sagarika was travelling for work on an IndiGo flight from Pune to Nagpur (6E-6798) in the wee hours of Sunday.
Her husband, Subrat Patnaik told TOI that the airline allotted Sagarika seat number 10A, by a window.He said, "But once she reached her seat, she was shocked to see the cushion missing.She raised the concern with one of the cabin crew members, who just asked her to look for it beneath the seat."Sagarika looked around the seat for the cushion, but was unable to find it.
Added Subrat, "She once again told the cabin crew.
Boarding was still going on and she was forced to stand in the aisle, which was creating issues for other flyers.
Finally, a crew member brought another cushion from a spare seat and placed it.
How could such a seat cushion just vanish? This is certainly not expected from an airline brand like IndiGo."The airline was contacted with this query by TOI, but an official reaction was awaited at the time of going to press.
Sources in IndiGo told TOI that the earlier cushion was taken out for replacement as it was dirty, a spare cushion given to ensure hygiene standards of the aircraft.Replying to Subrat on X (formerly Twitter), the airline wrote, "...
At times, the seat cushion gets adrift from its Velcro.
The same can be repositioned with the help of our crew.
Further, your feedback will be shared with the team concerned for review." The airline further said that his feedback had been noted and that they hoped to serve him better in the future.Subrat pointed out, "Whenever a plane is getting ready for take-off, a cleaning crew comes in for thorough check before boarding.
Didn't they notice the missing cushion? Even cabin crew, who are the first to enter an aircraft, couldn't spot the lacuna?"Businessman Kanishka Gupta, a frequent flyer, said such carelessness is common now.
"A month ago, I travelled to Canada from Delhi and was surprised to see no screens working.
On domestic flights as well, I have seen life jackets scattered and not in their place," he told TOI.Aviation analyst and expert Dhairyashil Vandekar called this unacceptable.
"Under no circumstances are airlines supposed to offer broken or unserviceable seats to passengers, for obvious reasons.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has warned the airlines in this regard in the past.
Despite that if such incidents happen, the DGCA must take strict action," he said.