The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Panchkula, has held a travel booking agent and an insurance company liable for deficiency in service after a confirmed flight of a 70-year-old Panchkula resident was cancelled just three days before his scheduled journey.
The commission, in an order dated August 27, directed Trip O Deal to refund ₹3,000 along with 6% annual interest from November 18, 2021, till realisation. It also directed the travel agent to pay ₹10,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment. Acko General Insurance Limited was directed to pay ₹15,000 compensation. The two opposite parties were also ordered to share litigation expenses of ₹5,500 equally.
Kashmiri Lal Singla, a resident of Sector 15, Panchkula, had booked two tickets for himself and his wife, on November 18, 2021, to travel from Chandigarh to Hyderabad by Go Air flight G8-514 on December 4. He paid ₹14,000 including ₹500 towards travel insurance.
However, on December 1, the airline informed him that the confirmed flight had been cancelled, citing issues beyond its control. Singla alleged that other flights from Chandigarh airport were operational that day and said the cancellation prevented him and his wife from attending a family function in Hyderabad.
The commission observed that the airline had cancelled the flight without offering alternative arrangements or demonstrating compelling force majeure circumstances. The airline and the travel agent did not appear before the commission and proceeded against ex parte.
{{/usCountry}}The commission observed that the airline had cancelled the flight without offering alternative arrangements or demonstrating compelling force majeure circumstances. The airline and the travel agent did not appear before the commission and proceeded against ex parte.
{{/usCountry}}The commission also found deficiency on the part of Acko. Although the insurance premium had been paid at the time of booking, the policy terms were supplied only on February 10, 2022, after the scheduled journey and after the complainant pursued his claim. The insurer had rejected the claim, citing policy exclusions for airline-initiated operational cancellations.
The commission held that such exclusionary terms could not be enforced when the policy conditions had not been communicated to the consumer at the time of entering into the contract.
Singla relinquished his claim against Go Airlines as the airline became defunct in May 2023 and is undergoing liquidation proceedings.