Air Canada to pay Rs 15k to Panchkula resident for damaging luggage

PANCHKULA: The Panchkula consumer disputes redressal forum has directed Air Canada to pay Rs 15,000 to a Panchkula resident for damaging his luggage bag worth Rs 5,000.
Complainant Shiv Kumar Bhoon, a resident of Sector 11, Panchkula, in his complaint to the forum stated that he had purchased a ticket of Air Canada flight from Delhi to Toronto, Canada to meet his relatives. The return flight was scheduled for August 9, 2017. When the flight landed at IGI Airport, Delhi, Kumar found his luggage bag in a torn condition. The items inside the bag such as clothes, accessories and so on were also found to be in a damaged condition.
According to Kumar, the bag was a branded one and was worth Rs 5,000. Kumar raised the matter with the authorities who admitted that the bag was torn in the flight. Kumar had requested the airlines to compensate him for the damage but to no avail.
The forum sent a notice to Air Canada to submit its reply. The airlines then sent a written statement stating that the complainant has neither disclosed the ticket number nor the date of travel or any other details. The complainant has not submitted a copy of the air ticket with his complaint. According to the carriage by Air Act, the passenger ticket constitutes prima facie evidence of the conclusion and conditions of the contract of carriage. The complainant has also not submitted the damaged baggage report or the baggage tags, which also constitutes as an evidence of baggage being handed over to Air Canada.
The forum observed the case and stated that the bag was entrusted by the complainant with the officials vide tag number AC532996 while boarding the flight and it was the duty of the airline to take every safety precaution while handling with it during the journey period from Canada to Delhi. The case clearly shows lapse and deficiency on the part of Air Canada. The forum directed Air Canada to pay the cost of bag Rs 5000 @ 9% interest from the date of filing of complaint, to pay an amount of Rs 5,000 to the complainant on account of mental agony and harassment and to pay an amount of Rs 5,000 to the complainant on account of litigation charges.