The District Consumer Disputes Redressal, Chandigarh, has directed British Airways and an online ticket portal to pay up Rs 30,000 as relief to an elderly Chandigarh man who was left stranded at the Zurich airport in Switzerland.

Manmohan Pal Singh, 72, of Sector 45 had left for a world tour in 2017. He booked a British Airways ticket from Zurich to Sao Paulo (Brazil) on CheapTicket.in for November 22, 2017, by paying Rs 30,316.

Singh was issued the boarding passes from Zurich to London and also for the connecting flight from London to Sao Paulo by British Airways. However, when he was to board the first flight, he was refrained from doing so as he did not have a transit visa for London.

Singh requested the airline’s Zurich office to cancel his ticket and refund the amount so that he could book another flight from Zurich to Sao Paulo, but to no avail.

Finally, the septuagenarian called his family in India, who arranged for his safe travel back to New Delhi by paying ₹78,000. He later filed a consumer complaint against the Noida-based website and British Airways.

What they said

While CheapTicket.in pleaded that it was clearly mentioned on the site that in case anybody wishes to change flights/airport, he or she must have the transit visa of the country concerned. Meanwhile, British Airways stated that as the complainant had to transit from one airport to another, he required a transit visa to change the terminals at London. “It was the duty of the complainant to enquire in advance,” said the airline.

However, the court observed, “The complainant is a senior citizen aged 72 years, who was left stranded and shattered at the alien country at the fag end of his life, and as per the complainant, he was not having sufficient money to arrange his travel to New Delhi.”

“If the transit visa was mandatory, then on what basis the boarding pass from London to Sao Paulo was issued to the complainant by the opposite parties?” the court questioned. “There is no doubt that the opposite parties negligently issued the boarding passes without verifying his documents authentically which created last moment panic to the old-aged person.”

The court said that “denying their own boarding pass just before taking the flight even after issuing the same” was deficiency in service and unfair trade practice, which “caused unprecedented physical and mental harassment” to the complainant and “forced him to indulge in the present unnecessary litigation”.

The court directed British Airways and CheapTicket.in to pay ₹20,000 to Manmohan Pal Singh as compensation for deficiency in service, unfair trade practice and physical and mental harassment caused to him besides ₹10,000 towards the cost of litigation.

First Published: Mar 19, 2019 22:58 IST