Mumbai, May 28: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mumbai Suburban, has held IndiGo Airlines guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice for allegedly mishandling a Goregaon resident travelling with her infant in July 2017 and wrongfully denying her boarding despite her arriving at the airport on time.
“This conduct of the aviation company has caused mental agony, harassment, inconvenience to the Complainant by denial of boarding with an infant. The Complainant is therefore entitled to reasonable compensation,” the commission maintained.
The commission, while holding the aviation company guilty of providing deficient services, directed it to pay over Rs 67,000, including compensation and litigation costs, to the complainant, Annu Bansal.
Further, the company was directed to refund Rs 6,558, which Annu had paid towards the original ticket cost, and Rs 6,095 towards the additional fare incurred by her. The commission held that the said refund had to be paid with an additional 9 per cent annual interest from December 12, 2017.
Passenger alleges wrongful denial of boarding
According to the complaint, Bansal had booked a Mumbai-Guwahati ticket for travel on July 25, 2017, for Rs 6,558, including charges for her infant child. She alleged that after reaching Mumbai airport on time, she was repeatedly redirected between multiple check-in counters by airline staff, causing delays in processing her luggage and boarding formalities.
The complaint states that airline staff initially accepted her luggage and obtained her signature on a blank paper but later informed her that the baggage door had closed and that her luggage would be sent on the next flight. Subsequently, she was told she had missed the flight and was allegedly asked to pay Rs 24,000 for accommodation on another flight.
Unable to travel, Bansal later purchased another ticket for July 27, 2017, for Rs 12,653, nearly double the original fare, and sought a refund and compensation from the airline.
Commission rejects airline’s defence
IndiGo, however, denied the allegations and contended that the passenger had arrived late and was treated as a “Gate No Show”. The airline also relied on DGCA regulations and its conditions of carriage, claiming that the complainant failed to reach the boarding gate within the stipulated timeline.
Rejecting the airline’s defence, the commission observed that IndiGo failed to produce documentary or electronic evidence, such as CCTV footage or check-in logs, to prove that the complainant was late. The commission noted that the fact that her luggage was initially accepted and her signature obtained indicated that she had arrived before the closure of the check-in counters.
The bench further held that the conduct of the airline staff in redirecting a woman travelling alone with an infant between multiple counters reflected poor coordination and negligence. It also termed the demand of Rs 24,000 for the next flight as arbitrary and unreasonable.
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The commission observed that the airline’s offer of a Rs 3,010 travel voucher as a “goodwill gesture” was inadequate and did not compensate the passenger for the financial loss, inconvenience and mental agony suffered by her.
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