Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): District Consumer Redressal Forum, Bhopal, has directed a private travel agency to refund booking amount Rs 26,602 with interest at the rate of 6 per cent and Rs 20,000 for causing mental harassment, Rs 5,000 for suit expenses to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director General (DG), Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
If petitioners are not paid in 2 months, travel agency will have to pay 9 per cent interest, Forum stated in its recent order. Kidwai with his wife Kausar Kidwai had filed petition in Bhopal District Consumer Redressal Forum on April 6, 2023, for recovering ticket booking amount of Rs 26,602, Rs 50,000 for causing mental harassment and deficiency of service each and Rs 25,000 for suit expenses.
According to Forum order, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai had booked tickets for himself and wife Kauser Kidwai from Bhopal to Mumbai. He returned to Bhopal in connection with his London tour.
The private travel agency had booked both confirmed tickets through Air India and return confirmed tickets through IndiGo Airlines on November 27, 2022. Kidwai had confirmed tickets to London through Air Emirate from Mumbai to Dubai and from Dubai to London.
Airlines had mailed confirmed tickets. But petitioners, after coming to know about health problem on November 4, 2022, informed travel agency on November 5, 2022, about it and requested for ticket cancellation and refund of fare. Same request was mailed to Air Emirate, which immediately refunded the fare.
In defence, IndiGo airlines informed Forum that take off time was 19:25 but petitioners arrived at 19:54. IndiGo Airline further said that there was no provision to refund the fare on medical ground. “We had not demanded refund on medical ground. We had informed airline well in advance. Airline stand is that his wife had reached the check-in-counter. But we submitted hospital document that Faiz Ahmed Kidwai was admitted for treatment,” advocate Deepesh Joshi told Free Press.
