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Hyderabad: Airline fails to deliver bag, told to pay Rs 60,000 | Hyderabad News
HYDERABAD:A district consumer forum here has directed an airline to pay Rs 60,000 to a 75-year-old for failure to deliver his missing checked-in baggage. The complainant had to eventually collect the bag from the boarding airport. Ghansham Das Bajaj, the complainant, said that he had travelled by Spicejet from Hyderabad to Bengaluru on August 14, 2019, but his checked in bag did not arrive at Bengaluru airport.
Bajaj said he was informed that his baggage was not loaded as they suspected there was a power bank in the bag, which is not permitted. He was asked to give a letter of authorisation to open the check-in baggage at Hyderabad Airport which was promised to be repacked and sent by next day’s morning flight. He said that the airline staff failed to cooperate on telephone in identifying the unclaimed bag.
Despite his wife having a medical appointment, he was compelled to go all the way to the Bengaluru airport and wait the wholeday, only to realise that it wasnot his bag. He had to latersend one of his representatives to Hyderabad airport tocollect his bag. Alleging non-cooperation, negligence and deficiency of service on the part of theairline staff, he filed the complaint seeking compensationfor not only incurring unnecessary expenses but also formental agony, loss oftime and physical suffering athis age. SpiceJet denied all allegations and contended that baggage was not loaded as it had apower bank.
They further claimed that as per the Carriageby Air Act, the carrier assumes no liability if the baggage is delivered to passengerswithin 7 days it ought to havebeen delivered and sought dismissal of the case.
But during the trial, the bench noticed that SpiceJet had failed to submit any evidence on record supporting that there was a power bank in the complainant’s baggage.
“Considering the age of the complainant, the opposite parties ought to have ensured that their ground staff engaged in passenger handling extended courteous behaviour towards him when he enquired about his missing baggage on arrival at Bengaluru airport.
The anxiety and tension of the complainant, a senior citizen, in such a situation is understandable, especially when his wife was having a medical appointment,” said the commission, adding that they deem it fit to award compensation to the complainant for the delay in receiving his baggage for no fault of his.
Bajaj said he was informed that his baggage was not loaded as they suspected there was a power bank in the bag, which is not permitted. He was asked to give a letter of authorisation to open the check-in baggage at Hyderabad Airport which was promised to be repacked and sent by next day’s morning flight. He said that the airline staff failed to cooperate on telephone in identifying the unclaimed bag.
Despite his wife having a medical appointment, he was compelled to go all the way to the Bengaluru airport and wait the wholeday, only to realise that it wasnot his bag. He had to latersend one of his representatives to Hyderabad airport tocollect his bag. Alleging non-cooperation, negligence and deficiency of service on the part of theairline staff, he filed the complaint seeking compensationfor not only incurring unnecessary expenses but also formental agony, loss oftime and physical suffering athis age. SpiceJet denied all allegations and contended that baggage was not loaded as it had apower bank.
They further claimed that as per the Carriageby Air Act, the carrier assumes no liability if the baggage is delivered to passengerswithin 7 days it ought to havebeen delivered and sought dismissal of the case.
But during the trial, the bench noticed that SpiceJet had failed to submit any evidence on record supporting that there was a power bank in the complainant’s baggage.
“Considering the age of the complainant, the opposite parties ought to have ensured that their ground staff engaged in passenger handling extended courteous behaviour towards him when he enquired about his missing baggage on arrival at Bengaluru airport.
The anxiety and tension of the complainant, a senior citizen, in such a situation is understandable, especially when his wife was having a medical appointment,” said the commission, adding that they deem it fit to award compensation to the complainant for the delay in receiving his baggage for no fault of his.
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