Privacy Policy

AIR INDIA PRIVACY POLICY

Air India values your privacy. Our privacy policy (“Privacy Policy") applies to all of the Personal Data we gather, and you share with us when you visit our websites, use our apps, and utilise any services provided by Air India including our loyalty programme and live chat options. Once you choose to provide us with Personal Data, Air India will only use your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy is issued on behalf of the Air India Limited, and is hereinafter referred to as “Air India”, “we”, “us”, or “our” in this Privacy Policy. Air India Limited is the controller and responsible for this website.

Please note that other airlines have their own privacy policies. Air India recommends you read those other policies if your travel plans include travel on other airlines, as those policies may differ from Air India.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact our Data Protection Team / Data Protection Officer, whose details are available in Section XIII to this Privacy Policy.

I. The Types of Personal Data We Collect

As per Air India’s business practices, we may collect Personal Data from you. “Personal Information” or “Personal Data” means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified.

We currently collect and process the following Personal Data:

personal identifiers, contacts, and characteristics (for example, name, date of birth, gender, title, postal address, billing address, home address, email address, contact details, and frequent flyer program and number);
passport details;
nationality;
your itinerary;
travel documents and visa details (for example: passport details);
meal preferences;
travel preferences;
payment data such as payment method details, bank account details, UPI information, and credit information;
health details (for example: medical history, medical issues, or any allergies);
IP addresses, device information, and browser information;
marketing and communication preferences;

Where permissible under applicable law, we may process special categories of Personal Data, such as health information to assess your fitness to travel or in relation to special assistance requests and biometric voice recordings to confirm your identity. Subject to applicable laws, we may monitor or record your phone conversations for training and customer service purposes, to comply with relevant legal obligations and to make and defend claims. If you visit one of our Reservations and Ticketing Offices or an Air India Lounge, you may be monitored by closed circuit television for security purposes.

We also collect, use, and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for different purposes. Aggregated data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website, mobile application, or service feature. However, if we combine or connect aggregated data with your Personal Data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as Personal Data which will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Where we need to collect Personal Data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, where permitted by applicable law, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with access or use to our website, mobile application, and other services).

II. How we Collect / Receive the Personal Data and the Use of such Personal Data

We use different methods to collect Personal Data about you, including through:

Direct Interactions: You may give us your Personal Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by phone, email, on our website, through live chat, or otherwise. This includes Personal Data you provide when you:

apply for our products or services;
create an account on our website or app;
use our live chat option “Ask Maharaja”;
subscribe to our service or publications;
request marketing communications to be sent to you;
enter a competition, promotion, or survey; or
give us feedback or contact us.

Automated technologies or interactions: As you interact with our website or our services, we will automatically collect technical data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. We collect this Personal Data by using cookies, server logs, and other similar technologies. We may also receive technical data about you if you visit other websites employing our cookies. Please see our Cookie Policy for further details.

Most of the Personal Data we process is provided to us directly by you through our website, mobile site or mobile application and through our live chat option called “Ask Maharaja” for one of the following reasons:

To help us understand you better and so that we can give you relevant offers in order to enhance your experience of traveling with us.
To use your Personal Data to facilitate your travel with us, fulfil your travel arrangements and deliver the services you have asked for.
To manage the boarding process and to facilitate flight connections at the airport.
To provide services such as ground handling, baggage services, travel and tours.
To administer city tours and activities, ground transportation services, hotel bookings, travel insurance, car rentals or other ancillary services that you have requested through us.
To keep track of your flight in advance and at the airport.
To help keep you safe when you fly with us and to meet certain legal and regulatory requirements.
To provide services tailored to your requirements and to treat you in a more personal way.
To provide you with benefits from our Loyalty Programme.
To facilitate duty free purchases.
To use the information, you give us for the purposes described in our Privacy Policy, which include providing you with services you have requested and enhancing your experience with Air India.
To send marketing and promotional messages if you have subscribed to it and to carry out analysis and market research.
To send important information relating to a product or service you have purchased to keep you informed about your booking and travel itinerary.
To make your flying experience, smooth and user-friendly by sending regular status updates and service communications.
To improve our websites, products and services.
For management and administrative purposes.

III. Personal Information of Children

Due to the nature of our services as an airline, we may collect travel information, which may include Personal Data of persons below the age of majority (“children”) when it is required to comply with the law, or as otherwise required to provide transportation needs and services (e.g. Air India may offer special discounts to children and needs to assess fare eligibility, verification at check in, and sharing of data to another airline if a transfer is involved or for transport of unaccompanied children).

The website, mobile applications, and services such as our live chat option are not intended for children. We do not address our website or services to children or knowingly collect personal data directly from children. We are not able to identify the age of persons who access and use our website, mobile sites or mobile apps or subscribe to our newsletters.

If you are a parent or a guardian of a child who has provided Personal Data without your knowledge and consent, you may request us to unsubscribe the child.

IV. Lawfulness of Processing

Personal information shall be processed in accordance with one of the following lawful grounds:

you have provided consent for the processing of your Personal Data for one or more specific purposes;
processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract;
processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which Air India is subject;
processing is necessary in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person;
processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interest pursued by Air India or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interest or fundamental rights and freedom of individuals which require protection of Personal Data.

Note that we may process your Personal Data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your Personal Data.

V. Who We Share your Personal Data With

We may share this information with:

to other companies in the Air India Group;
to customs, border control, security, anti-terrorism and immigration authorities, which require by law access to booking and travel itinerary information including Passenger Name Records for all passengers;
to third parties including other airline partners, partners connected with our Loyalty Programme, other service providers including those who are acting as our agent or sub-contractor, including, hoteliers, insurance companies, ground handling service providers, medical assistance providers, caterers, credit card and credit reference agencies, IT and system administration services providers, data analytics & data processing service providers, vendors, and our legal and other professional advisors, including lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers;
to third parties in connection with financing, securitization, insuring, restructuring, assignment or other disposal of all or part of our business or assets or in relation to defence of claims;
to official authorities, including law enforcement, governmental and regulatory authorities, including health authorities: (a) if we believe disclosure is required by any applicable law or regulation; (b) to protect and defend our rights, or the rights or safety of third parties; or (c) where it is in our legitimate interest to co-operate and share information with such authorities;
where you have made a travel booking, to passengers travelling under the same booking as you; or
to third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your Personal Data in the same way as set out in this Privacy Policy.

VI. How we Store, Retain, and Erase your Personal Data

We will use technical and organisational measures to safeguard your Personal Data in accordance with applicable laws.

We will retain Personal Data for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the specified purpose for which it was collected, the legal or business purposes of Air India, as described in this Privacy Policy and in line with our data retention policies, or as required by relevant laws. When erasing Personal Data, we will take commercially reasonable and technically possible measures as prescribed under applicable laws to make the Personal Data irrecoverable or irreproducible in accordance with the applicable laws.

VII. Your Data Protection Rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in the jurisdiction that you are based in relation to your Personal Data:

Right to be informed: the right to be informed about the collection and use of your Personal Data.
Right to access: the right to request copies of the Personal Data we hold about you at any time, or that we modify, update or delete such data. This access includes access to information about the processing, such as purpose, categories of data and recipients, duration of the processing, data subjects’ rights and appropriate safeguards in case of third country transfers. If we provide you with access to the Personal Data we hold about you, we will not charge you for this, unless your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive. Where we are legally permitted to do so, we may refuse your request. If we refuse your request, we will tell you the reasons why.
Right to rectification: the right to have your Personal Data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erase: the right to request that we delete or remove your Personal Data from our systems.
Right to restrict our use of your Personal Data: the right to limit the way in which we can use or process your Personal Data.
Right to data portability: the right to request that we move, copy or transfer your Personal Data to another data controller in a machine-readable format.
Right to object: the right to object to our use or processing of your Personal Data including where we use it for our legitimate interests.
Right to withdraw consent: the right to withdraw previously given consent to process your Personal Data.
Right to opt-out: If you no longer wish to receive promotional materials you may opt-out of receiving these communications you may notify us through the contact details mentioned below.

Please contact us at data.privacy@airindia.com if you wish to make a request for exercising the above rights or if you have a grievance related to the processing of your Personal Data.

VIII. Existence of Automated Decision-Making such as Profiling

We may engage in automatic decision making using your Personal Data for marketing purposes in accordance with applicable laws. You have a right to object to such automatic decision making.

IX. Links

Our website, mobile application, or other services may contain links to other web sites or platforms. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of web sites not operated by us. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by our website, mobile application, or other services.

X. Transfer of your Personal Data

(a) The Personal Data that we process may be transferred to countries other than where you are based. For example, we transfer your Personal Data, where some of our processors are located. Where applicable law permits such transfer, we rely on consent to transfer such data. If you are based in the EU, we rely on standard data protection clauses that are approved by the European Commission for the transfer of Personal Data outside the European Economic Area.

(b) You can find out more information about these transfer mechanisms by contacting us.

XI. Notification of Breach

If you suspect any misuse or loss or unauthorised access to your Personal Data please let us know immediately by contacting us via the contact details given in this Privacy Policy.

XII. Changes to this Privacy Statement

We will post changes to this Privacy Policy and update the effective date when this Privacy Policy is updated. We may modify this policy and all modifications will be notified to you in accordance with applicable laws. You are free to decide whether to accept a modified version of this Privacy Policy or not.

XIII. Privacy Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy or if you need to update, change or remove information, you can do so by contacting us through data.privacy@airindia.com.

XIV. Right to Lodge Complaint with Supervisory Authority

You can also complain to the appropriate regulatory authority under the applicable data privacy law if you are not satisfied with how we have used your Personal Data.

XV. Cookie Usage

Air India uses cookies to improve your experience of using our website. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for additional details.

6 May 2023