AI refuses to waive charge for excess baggage of 3 MPs

Notwithstanding pressure, Air India staff refused to waive the charges for 193 kg of excess baggage being carried by three MPs from Guwahati to Delhi and flew the goods in cargo after they made the payments.

Three Lok Sabha MPs – Uttar Pradesh Congress chief and Faizabad MP Nirmal Khatri, Congress MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta and Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Meerut Rajendra Agrawal -- were returning from Guwahati in Air India's flight (AI 9612) on Tuesday, airline sources said.

They wanted to check-in together with 268 kg of baggage but an economy class passenger is allowed to carry only 25 kg of checked-in luggage as per airline policy.

The MPs, who are members of Parliament's Rajbhasha panel and had gone to Guwahati for an official meeting, wanted the airline's station manager to waive off the excess baggage charges.

But the airline officials expressed inability citing Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's August directive prohibiting any waiver on excess baggage allowance to VVIPs, ministers and bureaucrats, the sources said.

The MPs were asked to book the excess baggage in cargo after paying a fee, to which they agreed and the baggage came to Delhi in another flight, they said.