Air India penalised for offloading passenger for ‘security’ reasons

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 8

Air India has been penalised by the consumer forum here for offloading an associate professor for ‘security reasons’.

While returning from Netherlands after attending a conference, Sardool Singh Ghumman was asked to get off the Delhi-Chandigarh flight. He had to board a taxi later as no alternative travel arrangements were made for him.

As per the complaint of the Mohali resident, who teaches at a college in Sangrur, on September 6, 2015, he was on his way back home after attending a conference at the Netherlands. Just before his flight was to take off for Chandigarh from the Delhi airport, he was offloaded from the aircraft without assigning any reasons.

Ghumman approached the Air India staff on duty at the airport to know the reason behind his offloading but in vain as they did not pay any heed. Eventually, he took a taxi for Rs 5,500 to reach Chandigarh as he was supposed to join his duties the next day.

In its reply, Air India pleaded that it was not them but the security agencies, which detained the baggage of the complainant for a security re-check. They thus pleaded that there was no deficiency in service on their part.

The forum observed that not making alternative arrangements for the complainant for his onward journey from New Delhi to Chandigarh amounts to deficiency in service. It added that the same has caused “unprecedented physical and mental harassment to the complainant” and forced him to indulge in the present unnecessary litigation.

The forum thus directed the airline to refund the taxi fare of Rs 5,500 and pay Rs 5,000 as compensation on account of deficiency in service and causing mental and physical harassment to the complainant. In addition, Air India was asked to pay Rs 5,000 as cost of litigation.