A few minutes or hours of delay while travelling on a flight is normal. While it can be agitating, such delays are quite normal. However, a 24-hour delay is something that is quite concerning. It hampers your entire schedule and plans. And that’s exactly what happened with Mohit Nigam in 2018. His Air India flight from Bangkok to Mumbai got delayed by 24 hours. This led him to miss a day of work. He filed a case against the airline and sought compensation for his mental and physical agony. Now, finally, the Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Commission has directed Air India to pay Mohit a compensation of ₹85K for this entire fiasco.
Air India Directed To Pay ₹85K To Flyer For Loss Of Work
View this post on Instagram
In a rare case, Air India has been directed by the district consumer commission to pay compensation of ₹85K to a flyer for missing work due to a 24-hour delay. Mohit Nigam was travelling with the airline from Bangkok to Mumbai. His Air India flight was, reportedly, scheduled to depart from Bangkok on a Sunday evening. This meant he would have been able to land in Mumbai on Monday morning and carry on with his work day as normal. However, the flight got delayed and he could only leave from Bangkok on Monday evening. This led to Mohit filing a case against the airline in the consumer court in Mumbai.
In his complaint, Mohit pointed out that the 24-hour delay led to the loss of a working day and led to physical and mental agony. He also mentioned that there was a lack of communication by the airline during the entire delay. The consumer court has now announced that Air India must pay the flyer ₹85K as compensation for the entire ordeal.
The Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Commission said, “As the complainant has pointed out the deficiency in service of the opponent, he is entitled to get compensation for physical and mental agony, loss of work but not fully what he has paid for i.e. refund of the ticket at both ends. It will be proper to impose costs of litigation upon the opponent.”
What Caused The Delay For Air India
Mohit Nigam had filed an RTI that brought to light proof that the 24-hour delay was due to Air India’s negligence. He used this evidence in the consumer court to strengthen his case. As per this evidence, the scheduled plane for the Air India Bangkok-Mumbai flight was to arrive from New Delhi to Bangkok.
It was then supposed to fly back to Mumbai. However, Air India was not able to fulfil the “scheduled mandatory requirements before departure” at the New Delhi airport. This caused the delay for the flight in Delhi, and in turn the entire route ahead. The consumer court found the airline at fault for this entire delay and hence, asked them to compensate Mohit.
While the compensation is long due, we can only say better late than never! What’s your take on this entire case? Let us know in the comments!
Cover Image Courtesy: Air India
For more such snackable content, interesting discoveries and the latest updates on food, travel and experiences in your city, download the Curly Tales App. Download HERE.