Items go missing from passenger’s bag, airline fined

Ludhiana: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered China Southern Airline, Delhi airport office, to pay Rs 15,000 as composite cost and compensation for deficiency in service after items went missing from a bag of a traveller.
The commission comprising president Sanjeev Batra, members Jaswinder Singh and Monika Bhagat, asked the airline to pay Rs 1 lakh to complainant Shikha Narang of Tilak Nagar, Ludhiana, as the cost of missing items within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of order, failing which the complainant shall be held entitled to interest at the rate 8% per annum from the date of order till actual payment.

Shikha along with her husband and children had booked their air tickets for a holiday tour to Melbourne and other places for a period between December 22, 2019 and January 19, 2020. As per schedule, the complainant took the flight of China Southern Airline on December 22, 2019 from Delhi to Guangzhou and further flight from Guangzhou to Melbourne where the complainant along with her family stayed and made various purchases during her stay.
The complainant claimed that for the return journey, they took a flight of the airline from Melbourne to Guangzhou. At the time of her departure at the Melbourne airport, two bags of the complainant weighing 19kg were retained by opposite party, for external and internal checking and scanning as per airline rules. Bags of other family members were also checked and scanned. On reaching Guangzhou, they had to change the plane on their way back to Delhi.
On reaching Delhi airport on January 19, 2020, the respondent handed over inspection report and disclosing therein that one battery was removed and taken in their custody without consent and approval of the complainant on the pretext of regulations of civil aviation security of the Peoples Republic of China and other relevant laws. It was also disclosed that the bag bearing tag was found missing. They further assured that as and when said bag recovered/found, the same shall be delivered at the residential address at Ludhiana.
On January 22, 2020, the employees of the respondent party visited them with a bag. However some items from the bag were found missing, including cash. Later despite repeated requests, the respondent refused to compensate the complainant on the ground that after investigation, they have not found any baggage weight discrepancy and that any valuable items are not allowed to carry in check-in baggage. The complainant further submitted that CCTV footage and investigation report was not supplied to her nor opposite party (1) gave any response to the video and photos of the lost item from the baggage in the broken lock condition.
The commission held, “The refusal on the part of respondent to settle the claim of the complainant was not justified in view of the fact that the inventory with regard to missing articles was prepared in the presence of their delivery agent.”