Kochi A Kerala consumer commission has directed an airline to pay ₹70,287 to a mother and her minor son after they were allegedly denied boarding on a confirmed Kochi-Abu Dhabi flight. The commission held that failing to transport passengers to their contracted destination without establishing a valid reason amounted to a deficiency and inadequacy in service.
The case relates to a journey scheduled for February 11, 2021. The complainant had booked tickets for herself and her minor son to travel from Kochi to Abu Dhabi and paid ₹20,287 for the original tickets. She claimed that both had valid travel documents and were eligible to travel to Abu Dhabi under the travel guidelines applicable at the time. Despite this, they were allegedly not allowed to board the flight.
According to the complainant, after being denied boarding, she was forced to purchase fresh tickets from Kochi to Sharjah at an additional cost of ₹29,510. Since Abu Dhabi was their intended destination, the mother and child then had to undertake a separate journey from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi after landing there.
The complainant told the commission that the airline neither provided a satisfactory explanation for refusing boarding nor refunded the original Kochi-Abu Dhabi airfare. As a result, she suffered an additional financial burden and had to rearrange her travel plans at short notice while travelling with her young child.
The airline was served notice during the proceedings but did not appear before the commission. The case was therefore proceeded against the airline ex parte.
The commission observed that if the passengers had been denied boarding because of a lawful restriction, failure to meet mandatory travel requirements or any other valid reason attributable to the complainants, the airline was required to clearly establish that reason before the commission. However, no such explanation or supporting evidence was presented.
The commission held that the airline had failed to fulfil its responsibility to transport the passengers to the destination for which they had purchased tickets. It also noted that the passengers were subsequently required to pay an additional amount to travel to a different destination. According to the commission, denying boarding without establishing a legally sustainable reason amounted to a deficiency and inadequacy in service.
The airline was directed to refund the original airfare of ₹20,287 paid for the Kochi-Abu Dhabi journey. In addition, the commission awarded ₹40,000 as compensation for mental agony, inconvenience and hardship suffered by the mother and child. A further ₹10,000 was awarded towards the cost of the proceedings. The total amount payable was therefore ₹70,287.
The commission gave particular importance to the fact that the second complainant was only around three years old at the time of the incident. The mother had to manage the young child, rearrange the journey at short notice, undertake an additional trip and pay a higher amount for the replacement ticket. The commission considered these circumstances significant in assessing the inconvenience and hardship caused to the passengers.
The order highlights that an airline denying boarding to passengers holding confirmed tickets must be able to establish a clear and legally sustainable reason for doing so. If an airline fails to provide the contracted journey and does not refund the fare, affected passengers may seek relief and compensation under consumer protection laws.
