Air India told to pay Rs 50K relief for lost baggage : The Tribune India

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Air India told to pay Rs 50K relief for lost baggage

JALANDHAR: National carrier Air India has been told by the New Delhi State Disputes Redressal Commission, presided by Justice Veena Birbal and member Salma Noor, to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to a Kapurthala-based resident, Manish Sharma, for the loss of his baggage.

Air India told to pay Rs 50K relief for lost baggage


Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, June 26

National carrier Air India has been told by the New Delhi State Disputes Redressal Commission, presided by Justice Veena Birbal and member Salma Noor, to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to a Kapurthala-based resident, Manish Sharma, for the loss of his baggage.

The complainant, Manish Sharma, in his complaint had stated that on December 30, 2010, after his wife travelled on a Air India flight from London to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, they collected their baggage and belongings from the baggage reclaim area (belt no.13) and went home.

“After travelling some distance, we realised that one of our hand bag was missing,” the complainant said, adding that on the same evening they reached the airport and approached the enquiry desk of Air India, where they were suggested to check with the airlines office at Terminal 2 in the morning.

Manish Sharma said he then approached the Lost Property (LP) office, managed by GMR/DIAL at T3 arrival. The matter was also reported to Delhi Police officials at Terminal 2 and he requested them to arrange the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) (CCTV) footage from cameras installed at the IGI Airport to locate the bag.

He said on viewing a CCTV footage, it was found that his bag was picked up by a loader staff of the airlines.

He kept on pursuing the matter with the airlines and also filed an RTI but nothing came out. Also, the Air India shifted the blame to the Airport Authority of India who, in turn, placed all responsibility of the same on the Delhi international airport, which is looking after the general security and management of the airport. However, he failed to get his luggage.

Sharma then filed the case with the District Consumer Forum, Kapurthala. However, the judgment of the forum was challenged by the airlines counsel and then the case was referred to the Delhi State Disputes Redressal Commission.

Meanwhile, in its reply to the commission, the airlines stated that it had been impleaded as the party only on the basis that the person identified in the CCTV footage lifting the hand baggage of the complainant was engaged by it through Neha Aviations for loading and unloading the baggage at the airport.

The counsel of airlines also said the security of the IGI Airport Terminal-3 is with the Airport Authority of India and Delhi International Airport Limited and not with Air India.

“It is further contended that handling of the hand baggage is the responsibility of the passenger and no liability can be fixed upon the airlines if the passenger loses his hand baggage at the airport.

The commission after hearing the case observed that the loss of the baggage was due to negligence on the part of Air India. It was the duty of the airlines to ensure the safety of the baggage and to hand over the same to the complainant on their arrival and failure in this regard amounts to deficiency in service on their part. Hence, they were then directed to pay the compensation to the complainant.

The order

The New Delhi State Disputes Redressal Commission after hearing the case observed that the loss of the baggage was due to negligence on the part of Air India. It was the duty of the airlines to ensure the safety of the baggage and to hand over the same to the complainant on their arrival and failure in this regard amounts to deficiency in service on their part. Hence, they were then directed to pay the compensation to the complainant.

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