Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 2: A passenger who was denied boarding on a Newark-Delhi flight over a discrepancy in his name has been awarded Rs 78,920, with the Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (KSCDRC) directing the airline and travel company involved to pay the amount.
The Commission’s in-charge president V Anuradha and members H Janardhan and Sharavathi S M held that the failure to refund the money, despite the respondents agreeing to do so, amounted to deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.
The case arose after the complainant booked Delhi-Newark return tickets for his parents. His father, a senior citizen with health problems, was dependent on a wheelchair.
According to the complaint, there had been no difficulty when the same passenger travelled from Delhi to the United States on June 8, 2024, using the same ticket and PNR. Trouble arose on the return journey when he was stopped at the airline counter at Newark airport.
Airline staff reportedly cited a mismatch in the passenger’s name and denied him boarding. With no option but to make alternative arrangements, the complainant said he had to purchase another ticket at the airline counter for Rs 71,241.
After the incident, the complainant sought reimbursement for the additional ticket. He said the airline and travel company subsequently agreed to refund the amount in two components — Rs 65,920 towards the ticket fare and Rs 5,321 towards the fare difference.
Despite repeated requests and follow-ups, however, the promised refund was not received, the complainant alleged.
The travel company contested the allegations, stating that after deducting the applicable convenience charges, it had completed the process for refunding Rs 65,490. When the bank transfer subsequently failed, the amount was credited to the complainant’s ‘wallet’, it said.
The company also argued that the decision to deny boarding had been taken by the airline and was beyond its control. It maintained that its role was limited to acting as an intermediary for facilitating the airline ticket booking and, therefore, the complaint could not be sustained against it.
The airline, too, denied the allegations. It said the passenger was denied boarding after a warning was received regarding a mismatch in his name.
The Commission, however, reached a different conclusion after examining the documents on record. It found that both respondent organisations had agreed to refund the money but had failed to actually return it to the complainant.
The bench held that retaining the amount despite having promised a refund amounted to deficiency in service as well as an unfair trade practice.
The Commission consequently partly allowed the complaint and directed both respondents to refund Rs 65,920 to the complainant. It further ordered payment of Rs 10,000 as compensation and ?3,000 towards litigation costs.
The total amount payable to the passenger under the Commission’s order thus comes to Rs 78,920.