Lawyer Accuses IndiGo Of Seating Child Away From Parents On Flight
IndiGo said flight was full, the child and mother were seated in the same row, and apologised for the inconvenience, reports Surabhi Gupta.
Published : May 13, 2026 at 9:59 PM IST
New Delhi: A social media post by a lawyer accusing IndiGo of forcing his three-year-old child to sit separately during a flight has triggered a fresh debate over airline seat allocation policies and passenger rights in India.
Gaurav Mishra, who shared his experience on LinkedIn, alleged that the airline separated his family during a flight from Bagdogra to Kolkata despite bookings being made under the same Passenger Name Record (PNR).
In his post, Mishra claimed the airline assigned "random jumbled seats" unless passengers paid extra for seat selection, calling the practice a violation of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules and an "unfair trade practice".
"Indigo forced my 3-year-old kid to travel alone in seat because their parents didn’t pay extra for seat selection," Mishra wrote in the post.
The lawyer further cited Rule 3.15 of the DGCA’s Air Transport Circular 01 of 2024, issued on April 23, 2024, which states that airlines "shall ensure that children up to the age of 12 years are allocated seats with at least one of their parents or guardians travelling on the same PNR."
Mishra alleged that despite paying around Rs 43,900 for three tickets, including a connecting journey, the family was not seated together. He said the experience caused "mental agony" and emotional distress to the child, and reserved his right to seek compensation.
The LinkedIn post also included screenshots of DGCA regulations related to unbundled services and passenger seating norms. The circular allows airlines to charge separately for optional services such as preferred seat selection, but also gives the DGCA authority to intervene if principles of transparency, opt-in choice and non-discrimination are violated.
Responding to the allegations, IndiGo said the flight in question was fully booked and the airline had attempted to accommodate the family as closely as possible.
Sources from IndiGo told ETV Bharat that the child and mother were seated in the same row during the first leg of the journey, with only one aisle seat separating them, while the father was seated in the row behind.
According to the airline, seats 29A and 29B were already occupied by another mother and child, making rearrangement difficult on a full flight.
"The flight was full. The family booked three tickets, so the son and the mother were sitting in the same row, only with one aisle seat in between and father was sitting in a row behind," the spokesperson said.
The airline also issued a public response to Mishra on social media, apologising for the inconvenience caused to the family. “We understand how important it is for parents to feel reassured while travelling with a young child," the airline said, adding that the feedback had been shared internally for review to improve the travel experience for families travelling with children.
IndiGo further clarified that during the second sector of the journey, the family was assigned seats 28A and 28B together.
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