In a significant move addressing passenger grievances, the authorities at Kolkata airport have issued a directive to all airlines operating from the facility. They have been instructed to immediately recalibrate the weighing scales used to check the weight of passengers' carry-on luggage. This action aims to ensure accurate measurement and prevent disputes at the boarding gates.
The Incident That Sparked The Action
This directive from the airport authorities was triggered by a formal complaint filed by a flyer, Amrita Singh. The incident occurred on November 23, while Singh was transiting through Kolkata airport. She alleged harassment by an airline ground staff member, which ultimately led to her missing her connecting flight to Delhi.
According to her account, her carry-on bag, which had weighed a permissible 7.4 kg at the Guwahati airport when she boarded her flight to Kolkata, was suddenly declared overweight at the Kolkata airport. The scale used by the airline staff at bus boarding gate 106 showed the bag weighed 9.5 kg. The ground staff insisted on an additional payment of Rs 1,500 for the excess baggage, threatening to deny her boarding if she refused to pay.
Singh's argument that she had just travelled from Guwahati to Kolkata on the same airline with the identical bag was disregarded. In a twist, she claimed that when she got the bag weighed again on a different scale, it showed the original weight of 7.4 kg.
Airport Authorities Step In
Responding to the complaint, Kolkata airport officials clarified their stance. They stated that airlines typically do not check the weight of cabin bags unless they appear excessively bulky and seem difficult to fit into the overhead compartments. However, they confirmed that they have now asked airlines to ensure their ground staff use only properly calibrated scales.
An airport official explained the potential for error, stating, "Anomalies creep in when a scale is not calibrated. At Kolkata airport, there are 146 scales with check-in counters. All of them are calibrated once a year to ensure measurement accuracy. But we do not know what scales airlines use at the boarding gates. They could be portable handheld ones. These scales too have to be calibrated to ensure that the measurement is correct."
A Widespread Problem and Industry Reaction
This incident is not an isolated one. According to a survey that received a substantial 36,000 responses from passengers, a startling six out of 10 airline passengers reported experiencing one or more instances of discrepancy in baggage weight at Indian airports in the past three years.
Echoing the sentiment for change, Anil Punjabi, Chairman (East) of the Travel Agents Federation of India, commented that airline staff must act responsibly. He poignantly added that it wasn't just the weigh scales that needed recalibration, but also the attitudes of the personnel involved.
Most airlines in India permit economy class passengers to carry 7 kg of cabin luggage of a specified size, along with an additional 3 kg for a laptop bag or handbag. The recent directive from Kolkata airport aims to standardize the enforcement of this rule, ensuring fairness and transparency for all travellers.
