New Delhi: In the initial months following its privatisation, Air India reported processing passenger refunds totaling more over Rs 150 crore, the company said on Monday.

The Tata Group gained control of Air India on January 27 after winning the auction on October 8 of last year. The airline has since taken a number of actions to solve the legacy problems, such as stuck refunds.

According to Air India, processing the backlog of refunds is a top priority.

“More than 250,000 cases totalling in excess of Rs 150 crore were processed in just the first few months after privatisation,” it added.

Since then, a lot of effort has been put into enhancing procedures and systems and utilising technology to expedite the processing of new refund cases, according to the statement.

“As of today, an eligible refund request lodged on the Air India website will typically be processed by the airline within 2-3 days,” it noted.

Customers may have to wait an additional two weeks before seeing their refund in their accounts due to subsequent processing by banks or credit card issuers, which is outside of the airline’s control.

Campbell Wilson, the CEO and managing director of Air India, had previously said that the company would rework its flight plans, hold nightly meetings, and ask staff to accurately record flight delays and their causes to boost the company’s on-time performance (OTP).

Wilson said in his memo to staff that the airline is investing in stronger “customer-facing systems” to proactively notify passengers about schedule changes or delays in advance and allow them to self-change flights if appropriate.