The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (New Delhi), comprising President Poonam Chaudhry and Judicial Member Shekhar Chandra, was hearing a complaint filed by Shailendra Bhatnagar and his daughter against Air India, alleging that the aircraft they were asked to travel on was ‘horrible’ and ‘unpleasant’.
In an order dated January 14, the forum said, “Taking into account the facts and circumstances of the present case, this committee is of the view that the complainant is entitled to compensation for causing mental anguish and harassment for not providing the facilities for which opposite party 1, Air India, has charged a substantial amount.”
The complaint was filed by Shailendra Bhatnagar, who traveled with his daughter on Air India’s Delhi-New York-Delhi flight in September 2023 on economy class tickets booked through an online platform.
The complaint alleged broken seats, non-functional in-flight entertainment systems, unsanitary toilets, poor food service and lack of response from cabin crew.
The commission directed the airline to pay Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation to the victim. “This committee, therefore, directs opposite party 1 to pay Rs 50,000 each to the complainant and his daughter as compensation and Rs 50,000 as legal costs to the complainant,” the forum said.
It was claimed that the toilets on board were also dirty and smelled terribly. He claimed that the food quality was extremely poor, and that the staff were extremely rude and failed to provide any solution to a single issue he dealt with.
However, the airline submitted before the court that the said aircraft was carefully examined before departure and an inspection was also carried out by the technical department, which revealed no ‘observable problems’.
“The complainant is making baseless allegations with the deliberate aim of illegally obtaining benefits from Air India,” the airline’s counsel said in court.
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