NEW DELHI: Senior IAS officer Ashwini Bide shared her unpleasant experience with British Airways claiming she was downgraded from premium economy due to alleged overbooking. Bide expressed her concerns on social media X questioning the airline's integrity and hinting at possible racial bias. She criticized the demotion at the check-in counter accusing British Airways of providing false overbooking figures and failing to refund the price difference.

Numerous individuals responded to Bide's post, with some noting that such incidents were commonplace with British Airways. Another comment mentioned similar behavior from Air France.

Bide's post included references to Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the DGCA and Mumbai airport. In response, British Airways issued an apology and an explanation for the incident. Ashwini Bide is an officer from the 1995 Maharashtra cadre.