HYDERABAD: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Hyderabad, has directed Tata Sia Airlines, commonly known as Vistara, to pay Rs 1.25 lakh, including Rs 72,286 in compensation, for forcing the complainant’s daughter to deboard the Nepal-bound flight over an expired passport.
While passengers need to have a passport with a minimum validity of six months to fly to Kathmandu, the complainant’s daughter’s passport was left with four months of validity. However, rules state an Indian national is not required to obtain a visa to travel to Nepal and only requires a voter ID.
According to the complainant, Puruhuta Lodha, she and her daughter were travelling to Nepal’s capital from Hyderabad via New Delhi in June 2023. They had purchased two-way tickets for Rs 52,714. After completing all the formalities, when they were about to enter the flight, the airline’s staff checked their boarding pass and took them back.
In its defence, Vistara said the complainant and her daughter were not obligated to go to New Delhi and did so to look for an alternative flight to Kathmandu.
In its order, the Forum noted that Vistara could not deny or produce substantial evidence that Indian nationals should possess either a passport or voter ID to travel to Nepal by air.
Noting that stopping the complainant’s daughter from travelling had no proper reason, the Forum noted it as a deficiency of service on the part of Visatara. It asked the airlines to comply with the order within 45 days from June 13 failing which a 12% interest would be levied on the total amount.