Parliament Question: Baggage Mishandling at Airports

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3446 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 12th March 2026 ) BAGGAGE MISHANDLING AT AIRPORTS 3446. SHRI PRAVEEN KHANDELWAL Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) whether the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) maintained data on delayed, mishandled and lost baggage cases during the last three years and if so, the details thereof, airport-wise, particularly for high-traffic airports such as Delhi; (b) whether any service level benchmarks for baggage delivery timelines have been formally prescribed for scheduled airlines and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether penalties or compensation mechanisms under Civil Aviation Requirements are being strictly enforced in cases of delay or mishandling and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether a centralised digital tracking and grievance redressal dashboard for baggage related complaints is operational and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken to strengthen passenger rights enforcement and operational accountability of airlines? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a) to (c): The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a Passenger Charter aimed at outlining the rules and rights of air travel passengers. As per the Passenger Charter, the provisions regarding "Lost, Delayed, or Damaged Baggage or Cargo" are as follows: For Domestic Carriage: A. In case of loss, delay, or damage to baggage, the carrier liability is limited to Rs. 20,000 per passenger. B. In case of loss, delay, or damage to cargo, the carrier liability is limited to Rs. 350 per kg. For International Carriage: A. In case of loss, delay, or damage to baggage, the carrier liability is limited to 1,131 SDR per passenger.B. In case of loss, delay, or damage to cargo, the carrier liability is limited to 19 SDR per kg. Grievances received for the last three years is placed at Annexure. (d): The AirSewa portal, an initiative by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), enables grievance redressal in a time-bound manner and provides a one-stop solution for hassle-free air travel. It allows passengers to submit and track grievances related to various stakeholders such as Airlines, Airports, Security, DGCA, Customs, Immigration, BCAS under various grievance categories including Baggage Claim. (e): To ensure appropriate protection for air travellers, DGCA has issued the following passenger-centric regulations/circulars to safeguard the interests of the travelling public: a) Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability and/ or Persons with Reduced Mobility [Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part I]. b) Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights (CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV). c) Refund of Airline Tickets to Passengers (CAR Section 3, Series M, Part II) and Air Transport Circular ATC 01 of 2024, titled "Unbundle of services and fees by scheduled airlines". DGCA also conducts surveillance and spot checks at various airports across the country. ******Annexure Grievances regarding Damaged Baggage, Delayed Baggage and Missing/Stolen Baggage for the last three years: Year Damaged Delayed Missing/Stolen Remarks Baggage Baggage Baggage DGCA was not maintaining data for the 2024 224 - 185 category “Delayed Baggage” till the year 2024 2025 416 76 433 2026 (till 153 69 173 28.02.2026)