Hyderabad consumer panel orders AirAsia to pay Rs 1.15 lakh for denying boarding over passport stain

After AirAsia staff refused her entry on a Kuala Lumpur flight, the passenger traveled smoothly via Singapore Airlines, leading the consumer court to slam the airline for unfair trade practices.

HYDERABAD: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-1, Hyderabad, has directed AirAsia Berhad and its operations to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation and Rs 15,000 towards litigation costs to a passenger who was denied boarding on an international flight over a stain on her passport.

Hyderabad resident Aparna Rajan approached the consumer commission after AirAsia allegedly denied her boarding on a Hyderabad-Kuala Lumpur flight on August 4, 2022, despite her possessing a valid passport and visa. The commission held that the airline’s actions amounted to deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.

Rajan, who had completed her MBA in Australia and secured a job offer in Adelaide, alleged that airline staff refused to issue her a boarding pass because of stains on her passport, even though she had used the same document for international travel for several years without any objection.

Following the denial, she purchased a ticket on Singapore Airlines for approximately AUD 1,682.72 (around `99,439) and travelled on August 18, 2022. No concerns were raised regarding her passport during that journey. She subsequently sought compensation for financial losses, mental agony and alleged unfair trade practices.

AirAsia defended its decision, contending that a stained passport could be treated as a damaged travel document and that permitting travel could expose the airline to legal consequences if immigration authorities denied the passenger entry.

However, the commission found no evidence that the stain rendered the passport unusable or that immigration authorities had objected to Rajan’s travel. It observed that the airline failed to establish that the passport was an improper travel document and also faulted it for not refunding the ticket amount after denying boarding.

The complaint against Air India Express and the airport manager was dismissed.

The commission directed AirAsia to comply with the order within 45 days, failing which the compensation amount would attract 9% interest from the date of the complaint until payment.