The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has reported a significant milestone for its newly established 24x7 Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR), revealing that it has successfully addressed more than 13,000 passenger complaints since it became operational. This update, shared on Sunday, 28 December 2025, comes amidst ongoing challenges for numerous IndiGo passengers who are still waiting for refunds following the airline's mass flight cancellations earlier in the month.
What Is The 24x7 Passenger Assistance Control Room?
Launched on 3 December 2025, the PACR was created as a direct response to the operational crisis faced by IndiGo and the subsequent failure of standard airline customer service channels. It functions as a unified response mechanism, bringing together officials from MoCA, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and crucially, airline representatives under one roof. The primary goal is the "on-the-spot" resolution of passenger issues.
The control room prioritizes critical concerns that disrupt travel, including:
- Flight delays and cancellations
- Pending refunds
- Baggage-related problems
It is powered by the AirSewa platform, which is fully integrated for tracking complaints and ensuring accountability. A sophisticated technology backbone converts passenger inputs into actionable cases, with live dashboards providing visibility on grievance types and resolution timelines.
Addressing the IndiGo Refund Crisis and Beyond
The establishment of the PACR was precipitated by the widespread disruption caused by IndiGo between 1 and 9 December 2025. The airline cancelled thousands of flights due to a confluence of factors, including new pilot duty time norms, winter fog, and admitted planning gaps. This chaos led to a show-cause notice from the DGCA and left a massive backlog of refund requests.
Despite operations normalizing, the refund issue persists for many, highlighting the control room's continued relevance. The MoCA emphasized that the physical presence of airline staff in the control room is key to enabling immediate coordination. In addition to resolving the 13,000+ grievances, the PACR has also executed over 500 call-based interventions to assist passengers directly.
A Proactive Step for Future Travel Disruptions
The release of this data is timely, as North India grapples with another wave of flight disruptions due to dense winter fog. IndiGo alone cancelled 60 flights on 26 December. The PACR represents a shift towards a more proactive and integrated governmental approach to passenger welfare, moving beyond traditional complaint portals to a real-time, multi-stakeholder command center.
While the resolution of 13,000 cases is a positive step, the ongoing refund saga with IndiGo underscores the scale of the initial crisis. The control room now stands as the ministry's frontline mechanism to monitor such situations and hold airlines accountable for passenger grievances, aiming to prevent a repeat of the early December travel meltdown.
