New Delhi, July 25 : Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Thursday said that the ministry is addressing flight delay and cancellation issues, stressing that "passenger is the top priority."

During Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, MPs Amra Ram and KC Venugopal raised concerns about repeated flight delays and cancellations, particularly affecting Air India Express flights in Kerala.

Replying to MP Amra Ram's question on cancellations and delays, the Civil Aviation Minister said, "Between April and June of this year, particularly concerning Kerala, in April, total cancellations were 14, in May, the number was 132, and in June, 18, which in total are 164 cancellations."

MP Venugopal highlighted the plight of many Indians living in the Middle East who are suffering due to frequent flight delays and cancellations.

He noted, "Cancellations are sometimes made without informing passengers, who are also not being reimbursed."

He questioned whether the government was monitoring the situation and how it plans to resolve these problems. He also pointed out the issue of high airfares to Gulf countries.

Naidu acknowledged the issues with Air India Express, particularly during its merger with AirAsia, which led to internal challenges and a mass strike in May.

Explaining the situation, he said, "The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) facilitated discussions between the crew members and the airline to resolve these issues. A software glitch during this period also compounded the problems, delaying the resolution."

Naidu assured that the situation had since stabilised and that the ministry is committed to preventing further cancellations and delays.

Regarding the civil aviation conditions, he said, "There are already regulations and guidelines in place. If any delays or cancellations happen and if the airline is not following the regulations that are being set up by the ministry, then the ministry gets involved to ensure that the customers get the refund, accommodation and readjustment done in other flights."

The minister also mentioned that Air India was fined Rs 10 lakh for not adhering to these guidelines.

Additionally, he added that the ministry is investigating the strike at Air India Express, and any non-compliance found will result in penalties, reiterating that "passenger remains the highest priority."

Later, MP Shafi Parambil questioned the hike in flight tickets for Gulf countries, saying that sometimes the prices rise to Rs 85,000.

"How can a four-member family afford this? Sometimes people are not able to come for their parent's death, or for their funeral. It's a sad state of affairs for our NRIs. Something must happen," he said.

In response, Naidu said, "It is the market-driven approach that airlines use for deciding airfares.'

"After I took charge as the minister, I gave a commitment to making the airfares affordable," he said, adding that the situation is "tricky" as when the DGCA wanted to do something on this, "some courts also got involved."

"Because of engine issues, 120 planes are grounded right now, and because of the lack of aircraft on the fleets, there is a lot of burden on the existing ones, which is driving up the prices," he said, citing the reasons for the price hike.

He also mentioned that India has 1,200 aircraft orders, which is the highest in the world, adding that it is a "happy" situation for the country.

"If some airlines try to manipulate any customer, we will take action. The customer is the king, and that is our priority in the ministry," Naidu said.

Responding to a question on why a high-level committee was not formed to look into the prices, he said that the ministry will "definitely look into it."

/IANS