‘Raghav Chadha Vs Airlines’ In Rajya Sabha: Demand For Hourly Delay Pay Wins Cheers, But Sparks Fare Hike Fears – Delhi News Daily

Last Updated:February 04, 2026, 12:16 IST

Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha raised concerns about airlines charging heavy fees for extra baggage while not offering compensation when flights get delayed or cancelled.

He asked Union Aviation Minister to introduce rules that hold airlines accountable for delays. (Photo Credit: Instagram)

Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha criticised airline companies over what he described as unfair practices faced by passengers. He raised concerns about airlines charging heavy fees for extra baggage while not offering compensation when flights get delayed or cancelled.

Chadha recently shared a clip of his Parliament speech on social media and highlighted the issue publicly. Sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “Airlines are quick to charge us for a few grams of extra baggage, but when they delay or cancel flights without notice, passengers are left stranded with zero compensation. Rules for customers, excuses for airlines. Completely unfair. I raised this issue in parliament.”

Raghav Chadha Questions Airlines Over Baggage Charges And Delays

While speaking in Parliament, Chadha pointed out how airlines impose heavy charges even for small baggage weight differences. He said, “Agar aapka 1 kg baggage overweight ho jaaye toh, haazron rupaye airline aapse excess baggage ke charges vasool leti hai (If your baggage becomes overweight by just 1 kg, airlines charge passengers thousands of rupees as excess baggage fees).”

He further mentioned that sometimes passengers end up throwing away their belongings at airports because the baggage fee is higher than the value of items they are carrying: “1 kg agar excess baggage toh flight aapse hazaron rupaye ka kiraya vasoolti hai lekin ghanto ke delay ke liye kya flight hume compensate karti hai? (If 1 kg extra baggage costs thousands of rupees, do airlines compensate passengers for hours of flight delay?)”

MP Suggests Compensation For Flight Delays

During his speech, Chadha urged Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to introduce rules that hold airlines accountable for delays. He said, “Mai kehna chahunga ki kuch aisa mechanism banaye ki har ghante ke flight ke delay ke liye, airline aam yatri

ko compensate kare, uski jeb mein paisa daale (I would like to suggest that a system should be created where airlines compensate common passengers for every hour of flight delay and pay them directly).”

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What Are People Saying Online

While many people supported the concern raised by the MP and shared their own travel experiences, others questioned the practicality of such a proposal and warned about possible consequences for passengers.

Pushpendra Singh, co-founder of Pushpendra Tech, supported the speech and highlighted what he described as double standards followed by airlines. He wrote, “Kudos to Raghav Chadha for raising our voice. Airlines are looting Aam janta. Strict rules for passengers,

endless excuses for airlines. This is blatant injustice. Good that this issue was raised in Parliament. Now we need accountability and equal rules 200 grams extra baggage? Pay immediately. Flight delayed or cancelled? Passengers get nothing. This double standard

needs to end. so the common passenger isn’t always the one paying the price.”

Several users shared similar concerns while sharing their frustration with airline policies with one user commenting, “If you have extra luggage on a flight, you pay extra charges. If your flight gets delayed and you miss a meeting, you get zero refund.”

“Airlines: ‘200g extra? Rs 500 fine immediately.’ Also airlines: ‘Flight 6 hours late? Here’s a voucher for 1 samosa and good luck.’ Raghav ji dropping truth bombs in Parliament like ‘bhai compensation bhi do na’,” someone else stated.

“He’s raising a good issue again but fir kuch kaand karega aage ispe,” read another comment.

At the same time, some users shared a cautious viewpoint and suggested that penalising airlines financially could eventually impact passengers themselves.

“The downstream effect of this is that everyone’s fares will be increased to cover up or insure the time when airlines get late,” someone else wrote while another added, “While the issue is tenable, if the airlines are penalized for this, it will come back

to consumers only via elevated prices.”

An X user also questioned whether baggage penalties and delay compensation can be directly compared and wrote, “Hello Raghav. If the airlines won’t charge you for excess baggage then everyone gonna flock with heavy baggages. This would risk plane maneuvering

as it gets more loaded with heavy weight. This is not the best example to raise a point on flight delays.”

Apart from baggage and delay compensation, a woman also pointed towards airline refund practices for add-on services such as “seat booking charge, insurance, meals” that often remain non-refundable.

She suggested that that travellers are frequently required to pay these additional charges again during changes which increases the overall cost burden on passengers.

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