CIC seeks B’lore-Male AI passenger list
The Central Information Commission has directed the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which runs Air India (AI), to provide details of the passengers who travelled business class on the Bangalore-Male-Bangalore AI flight in April, 2010.
The order was issued in response to a RTI application filed by Subhash Chandra Agrawal who wanted to know if former Civil Aviation Minister Prafulla Patel or his family-members put pressure on the public-sector airline for deploying a larger aircraft [A320] than the scheduled Airbus A-319 on the route.
The airline, in its reply, admitted that the A320 aircraft was deployed on April 25, 2010 for Bangalore-Male flight IC-965 and then on April 28, 2010, for Male-Bangalore flight IC-966. It noted that “change of aircraft is done at times based on commercial requirements depending on the booked load/demand and also due to operational/engineering requirements.”
However, in response to the applicant's query on furnishing the list of business class passengers, the airline said: "Keeping in view its commercial interests, [it] follows the practice of not disclosing the travel particulars of its valued passengers which are personal to them to any third party and such information amounts to invasion of the privacy of an individual."
In its order, the CIC said: "In view of the facts and circumstances of the present case, the Commission deems it fit and appropriate in public interest to direct the airline to provide the list of business class passengers as requested by the appellant."
The Commission directed AI to submit the name of the persons/person responsible for the decision and the name/designation of the official to whom the decision was communicated telephonically for compliance. Earlier, in its reply, the airline had stated that there was no file noting as all interactions in this regard were doneover phone.
Agarwal, had noted, quoting reports, that the daughter of the erstwhile Union Civil Aviation Minister was the person behind the exemption-cover by Air India. "It is definitely a matter of impropriety rather of commercial confidence as is claimed by the airline, if the enclosed news-report is correct. A Union Minister has no right to run a public-sector undertaking like his private business,” the applicant had said.
