'Rude Staff, No Coaches To Transport People': Congress MP Calls To Renationalise Air India

Last Updated:February 18, 2026, 19:16 IST

Manish Tewari criticised Air India for poor service and flight delays, urging renationalisation.

Congress leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday slammed Air India and called for the renationalisation of the airline, claiming that it has deteriorated under the ownership of the Tata Group.

In a post on X, the the Congress MP said that he experienced inconvenience at Gate 44-B of Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport, claiming that airline staff were “rude and brusque" and failed to provide clear information regarding the delay of flight AI-2601 to Chandigarh.

“The time has come to renationalise @airindia. The @TataCompanies have run the Airline into the ground. At Gate 44 -B of Terminal-3 @DelhiAirport the staff is so rude and brusque to their own staff forget passengers that they give obtuse answers about how much AI -2601 to Chandigarh is delayed," he said in a post on X.

He further claimed that there were no coaches available to transport passengers from the terminal to the aircraft, calling the situation even more “pathetic."

“Apparently there are no coaches to transport people to the aircraft. Pathetic!" he added.

This is not the first time that Tewari lashed out at the airline. In August last year, the Congress leader urged the government to take back Air India from the Tata Group, saying that they have run the airline into the ground and that privatisation of the once national carrier has been a disaster over complaints about cancellations and delays.

He lamented the cancellations and delays by Air India “at the drop of a hat", and claimed that these were happening without any explanations being offered by the airline.

Prior to this, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan shared an “uncomfortable" flight experience with Air India, slamming the airline for “basically cheating passengers" and calling for steps to ensure public convenience.

In February 2025, Chouhan complained about a broken seat on Delhi-Bhopal flight. Chouhan said that when he asked airline staff why he was allocated a defective seat, they told him that the management had already informed him that the seat was not in good condition and it should not have been sold on a ticket, adding that there were more defective seats.

He slammed the carrier for allotting him a “broken and sunk" seat and called it unethical for the airline to charge passengers full fare for such substandard conditions. His complaint prompted action from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) being asked to examine the matter.

News india 'Rude Staff, No Coaches To Transport People': Congress MP Calls To Renationalise Air India

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