The Second Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Bengaluru has directed Air India to refund Rs 44,029 to a passenger whose flight from Bengaluru to London was cancelled due to COVID-19 lockdown.
While refunding the Rs 1,35,143 ticket price to the passenger Milin Jagdishbhai Parekh, the airlines had deducted Rs 44,029 as 'cancellation fee'.
The 'incidental charge' of Rs 5,000 which got deducted was also ordered to be paid back within 45 days.
The Commission's recent order came after a two-year fight by Parekh who had filed his complaint in March 2020.
Parekh had booked a flight to London in January 2020 and he was to fly from Bengaluru in April that year. However in March that year, the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed which banned all international flights.
The Air India flight he had booked on online booking portal MakeMyTrip was also cancelled. The booking website did not come to the aid of Parekh whose efforts to approach the airlines also did not yield results. He therefore lodged a complaint with the Commission.
The airlines did not bother to represent the case and an ex-parte order was passed by the Commission.
The Commission noted that the airlines had declared Parekh as a 'no-show' meaning he did not turn up for the flight and offered him an alternate ticket on another flight before September 30, 2020.
The Commission noted that Air India could not declare the passenger as a 'no-show' and deduct cancellation charges as the flight ban due to COVID was well-known.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Style Alert For Arjun Kapoor And Karisma Kapoor
Mumbai To London Air India Flight Returns Due To Technical Glitch Air India Flight Suffers Bird-Hit At Goa Airport, Take-Off Aborted "Just No Empathy": Bengaluru Woman Slams Air India Over Rescheduled US Flight, Airline Responds Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death "Strong Indications" Bangladesh Security Forces Used "Unnecessary" Force: UN Delhi Experienced 15 Consecutive Days Of Rainfall, Says Weather Department Pilot Dies After Plane Crashes During Aerobatic Show In France Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.