File photo: Qatar Airways.
A consumer forum has directed Qatar Airways to pay Rs 70,000 to a woman who lost her goods and money while travelling to South Africa, while holding the airlines as "deficient" in service.
New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided by C K Chaturvedi, asked the airlines company to pay the money to one Kusum Sehgal.
"She has suffered loss of money and inconvenience for want of information to South Africa Airways, for onward journey and loss of hotel booking and delay in goods delivery etc. "All these facts prove imperfection in the service by Opposite Party (Qatar Airways) which has not been rebutted. We hold it deficient in services and award a compensation of Rs 50,000 for the deficiency and loss suffered to complainant and allow Rs 20,000 for litigation expenses," the forum's bench, also comprising its members S R Chaudhary and Ritu Garodia, said.
Ms Sehgal had told the forum that with the purpose to attend an exhibition in South Africa, she had booked ticket for November 15, 2010 from the company.
The flight, however, reached late at Doha and she missed the connecting flight for Johannesburg. She was later allotted an alternative flight and she managed to reach the destination, but South Africa Airways did not allow her journey to Botswana from Johannesburg for want of information from Qatar Airways and she had to buy a new ticket.
Further, she said that she reached Botswana on November 17, 2010, a day after the scheduled date of arrival, resulting in forfeiting of booking fee of Rs 6800 in a hotel and business loss as she could not attend the exhibition for one day.
The complainant also said that on reaching, she realised that her baggage was missing. She later recovered it, but some of the goods were damaged, while some were missing. The airlines did not contest the claim and were proceeded ex-parte.