New Delhi: A Delhi consumer court has ordered Malaysia Airlines to refund Rs 65,802 along with 6 percent yearly interest to a city resident after flight tickets were cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic. The court also fined MakeMyTrip Rs 25,000 for poor service and giving false promises about refund and rescheduling.
The order was passed by the Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on February 2.
Wedding Gift Travel Plans Disrupted
The complaint was filed by Karan Pradeep. In October 2019, he bought two flight tickets worth Rs 65,802 as a wedding gift for his brother and sister-in-law. The tickets were for travel from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur and Manila between March 13 and March 21, 2020.
However, due to the fast spread of Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions in the Philippines, the travel plans were cancelled.
Pradeep said that even though Malaysia Airlines had announced a flexible ticket change policy during the pandemic, MakeMyTrip first refused to reschedule the tickets. He claimed the company said it was not aware of the airline’s policy.
Later, he agreed to cancel the tickets after being told that a full refund would be processed within 60 to 90 days. An email dated March 19, 2020, said the refund had been started. But the money never came.
Court Rejects Technical Objections
MakeMyTrip argued that the tickets were non-refundable and that the complaint was filed too late. The commission rejected this argument, noting that the Supreme Court had extended the limitation period during the pandemic.
The court said that while the airline had no choice but to cancel flights due to Covid, it could not keep the passenger’s money when the travellers were not at fault.
It also ruled that MakeMyTrip could not escape responsibility by calling itself just a facilitator, especially since it had given clear assurances about the refund.
Compensation for Harassment
The commission ordered Malaysia Airlines to refund Rs 65,802 with 6 per cent interest from March 13, 2020.
MakeMyTrip was directed to pay Rs 25,000 for deficient service. Both companies must also jointly pay Rs 30,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment.
