AHMEDABAD: A consumer court has ordered
Air India to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to a city-based family after the airlines failed to fly their luggage to Singapore along with them on a vacation.
The Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Ahmedabad (City) held this as a deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on part of the airline and asked it to pay additional Rs 10,000 to the passengers towards legal expenditure apart from Rs 1 lakh compensation. The order was delivered last week on July 30.
According to case details, Bhat resident Dayal Wadhwani boarded on an AI flight for a vacation in Singapore, Malaysia and
Thailand in January 2015. Upon reaching Singapore airport, the family of five panicked on not finding all their four pieces of luggage missing on the conveyor belt carrying bags of other passengers. After waiting for half a day for their luggage, the family was told by AI officials that their bags were not loaded in the flight at Ahmedabad airport. The airlines assured them that the baggage would reach them in the next flight by evening.
Family had to buy clothes and essentials
The luggage did not come. As the family had to take a cruise from Singapore soon, they were forced to hit the malls and shop new clothes and essentials incurring a bill of Singapore $ 4439.25. Upon return in India, the family sued the airline demanding reimbursement of compulsory shopping and compensation for the hardship and mental agony caused due to AI’s failure to load the luggage in flight.
During the hearing, AI told the court that the Wadhwani family was paid $ 375 immediately upon their showing shopping receipts because the luggage did not reach Singapore in time. Moreover, the luggage was sent back to Ahmedabad from Mumbai upon getting consent from the family because they had to rush for the cruise. For delayed luggage delivery, the passengers were entitled to Rs 3,000 compensation according to rules.
The court acknowledged that the luggage was sent back to Ahmedabad upon the passengers’ consent. The clothes and essential articles purchased in Singapore can be used by family on their return in India. And the luggage, though delayed, was safely delivered to the family. "These are mitigating circumstances and hence the family’s shopping bill of $ 4439.25 cannot be reimbursed," the court said.
“However, there was a definite hardship and inconvenience caused to the complainants due to nonreceipt of their baggage. The circumstance of not delivering baggage at all or late delivery itself is a deficiency in service and all admitted facts are a pointer to their deficient service and unfair trade practice on part of Air India," the court said while directing the airline to pay the compensation with 9% interest.
(Representative image)
