By Smt. PREETHI SIVARAMAN.C, MEMBER
The complaint in short is as follows:-
1. For travelling to Dubai, first complainant booked a ticket for her and for her two children on 16/02/2023 through third opposite party and they travelled to Dubai on 01/04/2023. The return ticket was also booked for travelling on 30/05/2023 and the rate of the ticket was Rs.36,126/-. The period of visa is from 26/2/2023 to 30/5/2023. Complainant stated that the school and college will reopen the very next day and thus she chose the return ticket on 30/5/2023 with flight No.IX -346 and PNR STYJUB.
2. On 27/05/2023 complainant checked the status of the ticket through her mobile phone but she couldn’t get the details of the flight and she immediately contacted third opposite party and communicated the matter to them. Then third opposite party checked the booking status and journey details online and they got a reply that the “Booking is confirmed” and it is mailed to complainant on 27/05/2023 itself. She
She again stated that third opposite party directly enquired the first opposite party’s office at Calicut Airport on 27/05/2023 itself and came to know that the flight was cancelled. Neither the complainant nor the third opposite party was informed about the cancellation of the flight. She also stated that if not enquired by her to opposite parties they would not have come to know about the cancellation.
3. Immediately, complainant asked to opposite party No.1 to reschedule the flightthrough opposite party No.3. But opposite party No.1 was not ready to reschedule the ticket and they offered a refund for the entire amount of the ticket, even though the first opposite party company had a flight service which will be scheduled from Dubai to Calicut on the same day and tickets were available on the same flight. But they were not ready to reschedule the ticket and they advised the complainant to take a new ticket. Then complainant had no other option, thus she enquired the other available services for the nearest date and got ticket in another company namely IndiGo Airlines on 02/06/2023 with a huge difference in the ticket rate which was Rs.89,400/-. The visa period for her and her children were expired on 30/5/2023. Due to the unwarranted cancellation of the flight by opposite parties, complainant had to overstay the VISA.
4. The cancellation of the flight and negligence of opposite parties to communicate the same to the complainant caused so many inconveniences to complainant and her family. The alternative ticket availed were far more expensive and caused financial loss and the place of arrival changed to Cochin International Airport which added to expenses as extra cost of transportation. Due to the flight cancellation, complainant, who is an Assistant Professor at MES College, Mannarkkad and second and third complainants who are students had missed the working days of her job and also missed the school for children. Since the cancellation was unwarranted and the not informed it was impossible to make alternative arrangements at suitable time. Moreover due to the deficiency in service and negligence from the side of opposite parties, she incurred a loss of Rs. 89,400/- for booking the ticket at second flight and also lost Rs. 36,126/- the amount of the ticket of the cancelled flight which was refunded only after filing this complaint before this Commission. Due to the change in the destination airport she had to incur extra expenses for the transportation from Cochin to Malappuram and complainant suffered an inestimable mental agony for the inconvenience caused. Complainant stated that third opposite party is not a necessary party in this matter and there is no claim against third opposite party. The ticket were booked through third opposite party and thus they were added in the list of opposite party. There is clear deficiency in service and unfair trade practice from the side of opposite party No.1 and 2 which caused mental agony and financial difficulties to complainant. Hence this complaint.
5. The prayer of the complainant is that, the Commission direct the opposite party No.1 and 2 to pay Rs.53,274/- to complainant as the additional amount paid by her for the second ticket and also direct the opposite party No.1 and 2 to pay the extra expenses of Rs.5000/- for the transportation from Cochin to Malappuram and also direct to opposite party to give Rs.5,00,000/-as compensation on account of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of opposite party No.1 and 2 and thereby caused mental agony, physical hardships and financial sufferings to the complainant and Rs.25,000/- as cost of the proceedings.
6. On admission of the complaint notice was issued to the opposite parties and notice served on them and opposite parties appeared before the Commission through their counsel and opposite party No.1 and 2 filed their version. But no version filed by opposite party No.3.
7. In their version, they denied all the allegations levelled by complainant against them except those which are admitted there under. Opposite party No.1 and 2 admitted that the flight IX C -346 DXB-CCJ was scheduled to depart from Dubai to Calicut on 30/05/2023. However, the flight was cancelled due to flight schedule amendment planned by them, due to operation requirement and flight schedule amendment had to be carried out due to various upgraded system of implementations at their side. Due to system migration and the change in the flight schedule they were unable to reschedule the flight for complainant and hence offered full refund for the cancellation. As per the terms and conditions of carriage of opposite party No.1 and 2 and the passenger charter issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation, India they were obligated to either reschedule the flight or offer full refund for the cancellation to the complainant.
8. In the unfortunate circumstances beyond the control of the Airline, they may resort to change their schedule or cancel, terminate or postpone reschedule, advance or delay any flight where they reasonably consider this to be justifiable under such situation. In the event of such flight cancellation, preponement more than one hour or delay beyond three hours, we shall at our discretion, either give the option where i) Guest can be transferred to another flight or will be given an option to choose the next available Air India Express flight on the same sector within 7 days from original date of departure without any additional charges subject to seat availability. ii) Guests opting not to travel can avail a full refund. The aforementioned cancellation of the flight was intimated to the complainants on 22/03/2023 through email to the email IDs provided by the complainant and was available in their record. It is also to be noted that the passenger and travel agent despite being aware of the fact that correct passenger contact details are required to be inserted at the time of booking, failed to adhere to the guidelines and inserted the contact details of opposite party No.3 , due to which the passenger did not receive the emails sent by the opposite parties . It is relevant to mention here that as per the passenger charter, where a passenger fails to provide accurate contact details they will not eligible for any claims against the company. Relevant extract from the passenger charter and there mentioned that airline must inform the passengers of the flight cancellation at least two weeks before, but upto 24 hours of the scheduled departure time and offer an alternate flight allowing the passenger to depart or refund the ticket price as acceptable to passenger. They also stated that complainant must provide adequate contact information at the time of booking or else no financial compensation shall be payable. In this case they issued 2 months prior notice to the complainants. The complainants were informed on 22/03/2023 through a system generated email about the cancellation of the flight on the registered email IDs available in the records of opposite party No.1 and 2. Moreover SMS was also sent to the complainants on 27/05/2023 to their phone numbers 9605140000, 9946953235 with regard to the cancellation of the flight. They again stated that in the light of the said cancellation, they had also refunded the entire ticket amount of Rs. 36,126/- and the same was processed on 11/06/2023 to the account of third opposite party through which the booking was made by the complainant. They also stated that the actions of them were strictly in consonance with the terms and conditions of them and the guidelines laid down by the relevant authority. The complainant have availed the remedy available to them in case of cancellation of flight booked and hence the above complaint is devoid of all merits.
9. In order to substantiate the case of the complainant, she filed an affidavit in lieu of Chief examination and the documents she produced were marked as Ext.A1 to A7. Ext.A1 is the copy of E-ticket booked on 16/02/2023 to travel from Dubai to Calicut for a total fare of Rs.36,124/-. Ext.A2 is the copy of confirmation mail from first opposite party dated 26/05/2023 that the flight tickets are still confirmed. Ext.A3 is the copy of intimation given by first opposite party on 22/03/2024 regarding the confirmation of the schedule of the Flight No.IX -346. Ext.A4 is the copy of email for enquiry raised by third opposite party to the first opposite party regarding the status of the flight upon the request of complainant. Ext.A5 series are the copies of Reply email sent by first opposite party to third opposite party dated 27/05/2023 (2 pages). Ext.A6 is the copy of search result showing that ticket was available in an alternate flight of first opposite party towards same destination and at same time. Ext.A7 series are the copies of new tickets booked at IndiGo Airlines on 29/05/2023 (2 pages). Thereafter opposite party No.1 and 2 did not file their affidavit to prove their case. Hence opposite party No.1 to 3 set exparte. The case referred for mediation and the mediation was scheduled on 19/03/2024 and complainant and opposite parties were absent for mediation.
10. Heard the complainant and perused the affidavit and documents filed by complainant. In her complaint and affidavit, she clearly stated that she had no claim against opposite party No.3. The allegations against opposite party No.1 and 2 are proved by the unchallenged evidence of complainant. There is no contra evidence in this matter. Moreover, complainant produced seven documents which are very supportive to prove her case. In their version opposite party No.1 and 2 mentioned about some documents but they did not produce that document before the Commission. It is not a good practice from their side. In their affidavit complainant admitted that the ticket fare of Rs. 36,126/- of the cancelled flight was only refunded after filing of this complaint before the Commission. In Ext. A2 dated 27/05/2023 it is clearly mentioned by opposite party No.1 and 2 that the booking has been confirmed and in that document itself on 26/03/2023 opposite parties directed the complainant that in order to receive the boarding pass complainant must present the PNR as well as her passport or photo identification and valid visas at the check-in counters. Opposite parties stated in their version that the cancellation of the flight was intimated to the complainant on 22/03/2023. But from Ext. A2 it is seen that they had sent an email to complainant on 26/03/2023 regarding direction for travel. In Ext. A3 dated 22/03/2023 opposite parties sent an email to inform that the flight has been rescheduled and in that document there is a note that “if you are booked on the original flight and there is no change in your flight schedule please ignore this email” It is also confusing email from opposite party No.1 and 2 to complainant. As per Ext. A6 complainant stated that even though seats were available on another flight of opposite party No.1 and 2 on the same day, but they not allowed the complainant to travel and advised her to take another new ticket. In the version of opposite party No.1 and 2 they stated that they intimated the complainant regarding flight cancellation on 22/03/2023 and also send SMS to complainants on 27/05/2023 in their mobile phone regarding the cancellation of the flight. But they did not produce documents to prove their contention. It is also a deficiency in service and unfair trade practice from the side of opposite party No.1 and 2. Hence the Commission finds that there is deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party No.1 and 2 as alleged in the complaint. Hence we allow this complaint holding that opposite party No.1 and 2 are deficient in service. We allow this complaint as follows: -
- The opposite party No.1 and 2 are directed to pay Rs. 53,274/- (Rupees Fifty three thousand two hundred and seventy four only) to complainant, the additional amount paid by complainant for purchasing the second air ticket from IndiGo airlines.
- The opposite party No.1 and 2 are directed to pay compensation of Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) to the complainant on account of deficiency in service on the part of opposite party No.1 and 2 and thereby caused mental agony, physical hardships and financial sufferings to the complainant.
- The opposite party No.1 and 2 are also directed to pay Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five thousand only) to the complainant as cost of the proceedings.
If the above said amount is not paid to the complainant within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order, the opposite party No.1 and 2 are liable to pay the interest at the rate of 12% per annum on the said amount from the date of receipt of the copy of this order till realisation.
Dated this 22nd day of November, 2024.
MOHANDASAN K., PRESIDENT
PREETHI SIVARAMAN C., MEMBER
MOHAMED ISMAYIL C.V., MEMBER
APPENDIX
Witness examined on the side of the complainant : Nil
Documents marked on the side of the complainant : Ext.A1to A7
Ext.A1 : Copy of E-ticket booked on 16/02/2023 to travel from Dubai to Calicut for a
total fare of Rs.36,124/-.
Ext.A2 : Copy of confirmation mail from first opposite party dated 26/05/2023 that
the flight tickets are still confirmed.
Ext.A3 : Copy of intimation given by first opposite party on 22/03/2024 regarding the
confirmation of the schedule of the flight No. IX -346.
Ext.A4 : Copy of Email for enquiry raised by third opposite party to the first
opposite party regarding the status of the flight upon the request of
complainant.
Ext.A5: Series are the copies of Reply email sent by first opposite party to third
opposite party dated 27/05/2023 (2 pages).
Ext.A6: Copy of search result showing that ticket was available in an alternate flight
of first opposite party towards same destination and at same time.
Ext.A7: Series are the copies of new tickets booked at IndiGo Airlines on 29/05/2023
(2 pages).
Witness examined on the side of the opposite party : Nil
Documents marked on the side of the opposite party : Nil
MOHANDASAN K., PRESIDENT
PREETHI SIVARAMAN C., MEMBER
MOHAMED ISMAYIL C.V., MEMBER