HYDERABAD : The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hyderabad, has ordered IndiGo Airlines to pay Rs 70,000, including Rs 20,000 in compensation, to a man for delaying the delivery of luggage by 17 days.
The complainant, Syed Javed Akhtar Zaidi, claimed that he incurred a loss to his business due to the absence of important documents that were inside the bag. The incident happened when Zaidi was travelling from Jeddah to Hyderabad in June 2023. He was told by the airlines that his baggage was missing.
Later, he was told that it would be delivered within the next 12 hours. However, the airlines failed to deliver on their promise and also did not respond to emails or calls.
As a result, the complainant claimed that the purpose of his visit was defeated and most of the business meetings were cancelled due to the non-availability of documents, adding that he had to spend about Rs.80,000 to purchase clothes and other items during his 18-day-long stay in the city.
In its defence, IndiGo contended that, as per Clause 17 (Schedule 3) of the Carriage by Air Act, 1972, the liability of the carrier only arises if it fails to deliver the checked-in baggage within a period of 21 days after the arrival date. However, the luggage was delivered in 17 days, due to which the complainant has no right to demand compensation.
However, the Forum noted that there is no evidence that the Central Baggage Tracing Unit (CBTU) Team of IndiGo had initiated tracing of the checked-in baggage of Zaidi and forwarded the said issue to their staff at both Jeddah and Hyderabad Airports, along with the effort to expedite the searches. Moreover, it failed to inform him of any real-time updates via email and SMS regarding its status.
It ordered the airlines to pay Rs 50,000 for expenses incurred by Zaidi in the absence of his luggage along with `20,000 in compensation within 45 days.