Friday, September 25, 2015

Air India told to pay Rs.50,000 for offloading passenger

New Delhi: Offloading a passenger due to overbooking has cost Air India Rs.50,000, with a consumer forum holding that the airlines did it for commercial gains with no concern for the passengers.

“Offloading is done by airlines for commercial gain. Airlines are not concerned with the problems and harassment faced by ordinary passengers, whose whole schedule goes haywire in spite of having confirmed tickets in hand,” said the New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum.

In this case, the complainant, a Noida resident, was awarded a compensation of Rs.50,000, to be paid by Air India, for offloading citing overbooking besides litigation expenses of Rs.15,000.

The complainant had booked a seat in an Air India flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt on January 8, 2007, to attend a business fair. He was offloaded due to overbooking by the airlines, which offered him an alternate flight to Frankfurt via London. This was not acceptable to the complainant as he did not possess a visa for London. He was refunded the ticket amount after deduction of taxes.

The complainant said the airline staff was very rude in handling the matter and that forced him to move the forum.
25/09/15 Akanksha Jain/The Hindu
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