Air India asked to pay Rs 1 lakh fine for de-boarding flyer in 2015.

FOBZA 15/04/2019 0 comments

Air India asked to pay Rs 1 lakh fine for de-boarding flyer in 2015.

Air India has been slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lakh for de-boarding a flyer in 2015. Air India had allegedly not cited any proper reasons to offload the passenger.

The Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission while hearing an appeal filed by a Mohali-based flyer, has asked the Air India to pay Rs 1 lakh as fine for harassing a passenger.

The Commission has also asked the airline to pay Rs 5500 to the passenger, which he had paid as taxi fare after he was de-boarded, allegedly without any reason.

The case dates back to 2015 when Sardul Singh Ghuman,

Associate Professor (Physics) with Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur was returning from the Netherlands after attending a conference. He took an Air India flight from New Delhi to Chandigarh but he was offloaded by the airline staff, citing security reasons. No explanations were given.

Ghuman missed his flight and was compelled to hire a taxi to reach Chandigarh. He then moved a consumer forum which asked the airline to pay Rs 5500, the taxi fare, however, this did not satisfy Sardul Singh Ghuman. He felt that merely getting a taxi fare reimbursement did not compensate the harassment and the humiliation he faced.

Sardul Singh Ghuman filed an appeal against the consumer forum with the state Consumer Commission. He told the commission that he faced mental harassment and was compelled to hire a taxi as he needed to reach Chandigarh on the same day.

The airline while countering the allegations told the Commission that it was not their fault as the passenger was asked to de-board by the security agency for security reasons.

However, the Commission held the airline responsible for the lapse and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh, along with the cost of the taxi fare from New Delhi to Chandigarh.

This is not the first time when Air India has been slapped with a fine. Earlier in 2015, a Delhi Consumer Forum had fined the airline after a passenger was served biscuits instead of proper dinner as the airline had promised.

Source: indiatoday.in