Airline told to pay ₹18k to flyer for delaying check-in bag

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Airline told to pay ₹18k to flyer for delaying check-in bag

B’lurean Had To Wait For 6 Hours, Ended Up Missing Bus, Paying Taxi Fare To Reach Destination

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:13.01.2021

A consumer court recently ordered commercial airline SpiceJet to pay over Rs 18,000 to a Bengalurean after it failed to load his check-in bag on his flight to  Delhi in 2019, upsetting his work plans. The verdict came after the passenger complained of deficiency in service and dereliction of duty.

Naveen BM, 37, from Hanumanthanagar, a skill trainer who travels extensively on work, landed at Delhi airport on the evening of May 2, 2019, in a SpiceJet flight from Bengaluru. But he realised his bag containing his clothes, medicines, food and work presentation papers hadn’t arrived.

Baggage not loaded on plane

He approached SpiceJet authorities at the airport, who informed him that his bag was not loaded on to the plane as it was oversized and would be transported in the next flight within an hour. However, Naveen had to wait for the next six hours, which resulted in him missing a bus to Solan, Himachal Pradesh, where he was scheduled to attend a meeting the following day.

The Bengalurean questioned the airline staff on the delay, but they simply had no reply. With the bag finally arriving around 1.30am, Naveen was forced to take a taxi to Solan in the early hours after shelling out Rs 2,101.

With SpiceJet not bothering to pay heed to his grievance, Naveen finally approached the Bangalore 1st additional district consumer disputes redressal commission in Shantinagar on February 12, 2020 with a complaint against the airline.

Naveen presented his case through his attorney, while SpiceJet remained ex parte despite notices. After a litigation of over 10 months, judges of the forum held SpiceJet responsible for the inconvenience and monetary loss caused to the customer by delaying his baggage, which forced him to miss his bus and pay taxi fare.

In its verdict pronounced on December 31, 2020, the forum ruled that SpiceJet must pay Naveen Rs 3,200 towards his taxi fare and bus ticket, Rs 5,000 towards his court expenses and an additional Rs 10,000 towards damages caused due to the ordeal, all within 30 days of the order.

Not given proper chance to be heard: SpiceJet

Responding to the case, a spokesperson from SpiceJet said the complainant’s notice was received during the Covid-19 lockdown and the forum pronounced its order ex parte without giving the airline a proper opportunity of being heard. The company has not received certified copy of the order from the forum till date. “We will examine the order upon its receipt and shall take necessary steps as per law,” the spokesperson said.