Air India, Air Asia to accept each other's passengers in case of flight disruptions

In the first step towards cooperation between Tata Group airlines, Air India and AirAsia India (AAIPL) will accept each other's domestic passengers in case one carrier's flights are disrupted for some reason.

The arrangement, effective for two years starting from this month, will enable airport teams of both Air India and AirAsia to offer alternative first available flights so that inconvenience to passengers is minimised.

The two carriers have entered into the IROPS (Irregular Operations) arrangement through a pact, which allows transfer of passengers to each other's flights in case of disrupted operations, as per the communication.

The two have signed an "interline considerations on irregular operations" (IROPs) agreement for two years that is valid up to February 9, 2024, to offer "first available alternate flights to minimise inconvenience to passengers." The over 7-year-old AAIPL so far does not have any international passenger flights.

Tata Air India has been focusing on improving their on-time performance and resolve passenger grievances. After taking control of Air India and Air India Express on January 26, the Tata Group has four airlines under it including Vistara and AAIPL.