A District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has directed Air India to compensate a complainant by paying ₹50,000 after it was alleged that the airlines failed to deliver a consignment containing six passports on the stipulated date.

Holding the airlines guilty of deficiency in services, the consumer forum said, “The admission [of the airlines] in not lifting the consignment on the assigned date despite having booked for the same day…without any communication to the complainant in this regard, is clear deficiency in services on the part of the airlines.”

Financial loss

The complainant had alleged that the consignment was booked for December 24, 2014 morning flight, to be delivered in Hyderabad, from where the passport holders were scheduled to travel to Indonesia. However, it was alleged that the consignment did not reach Hyderabad within the stipulated time and arrived a day later, on December 25, 2014. The complainant moved the consumer forum alleging that there was financial loss as the passport holders failed to fly to Indonesia with the consignment not reaching on time.

Could not reach on time

“As the complainant could not receive the passports on December 24, they could not fly to Indonesia for the business trip. It is also evident that they could not reach Indonesia on time,” the consumer panel observed.

However, the airlines contended that the complainants “themselves had requested for delivery of consignment on December 25 without any iota of protest and objection…the complaint was devoid of merit.”

Rejecting the claims put forth by Air India, the consumer redressal forumn directed the airlines to compensate the complainant within 30 days.