INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Complainant suffered agony and harassment due to re-routing and cancellation of confirmed flightsChandigarh: 60-year old Harsharan Kaur
Dhaliwal from Chandigarh got a major relief for an unforgettable airline journey, after the Consumer Redressal Commission of Chandigarh
physical harassment due to re-routing and cancellation of the confirmed flights by Lufthansa German Airlines and British Airways
She was taken into custody by the Airport Police at Copenhagen (Denmark) because she was arbitrarily sent on the route, for which she did
not have a visa and even a transit visa was not provided to her.As per her complaint, she boarded flight no
LH-455 of Lufthansa Airlines from San Francisco to Frankfurt on March 19, 2018.She boarded the flight, but it could not take off for three
Thereafter, she was told to de-board the flight and collect her baggage
On de-boarding, she was not provided assistance of wheel chair and it was difficult for her to locate and collect the luggage
She was left in the lurch at the airport without any assistance from the staff or Lufthansa Airlines Authorities
However, she managed to call her son to the airport and collected luggage.Later, the Lufthansa Airlines re-routed her journey from San
Francisco to New Delhi without consulting or informing her
This time, she was handed the air tickets from San Francisco to New Delhi via London on British Airways, as an alternative arrangement, vide
flight no.BA-286 (flight no.1) from San Francisco to London, then by flight no.BA-820 (flight no.2) from London to Copenhagen, and then by
flight no.158 of Air India (flight no.3) from Copenhagen to New Delhi and all were the connected flights.With no option left, she accepted
the re-routing for her return to India
In accordance with the alternative/re-routing plan, on 19.03.2018 at 9.35 p.m
she boarded first flight no.BA-286 from San Francisco but it arrived late at Heathrow-London airport
Due to this, she missed the connecting flight no.BA-820 from London to Copenhagen.As per her complaint, no alternative arrangements were
made for her safe return to New Delhi
Ultimately, after much persuasion, she was made to board another flight no.BA-822, which departed London at 7.05 pm
on 20.03.2018 and reached Copenhagen (Denmark) at 10.00 pm
Again there was no connecting flight to New Delhi, as per the schedule
Since the connecting flight was not available at Copenhagen (Denmark), she was stranded at the airport without proper visa.Although it was
the duty of both the airlines i.e
Lufthansa Airlines and British Airways, which re-routed her return journey, to provide transit visa for Copenhagen (Denmark), nothing was
Even wheel chair, special diet and other basic facilities were not provided to her
She was, rather, treated as a criminal.In her complaint, it was alleged that she was a diabetic and hypertension patient and also suffered
from knee problem but was not provided any help
The airport authorities and both- Lufthansa Airlines and British Airways did not pay any heed to her prayer and request; therefore she
contacted her husband in Chandigarh and apprised him of the dismay
She was unauthorizedly detained by Airport Police at Copenhagen (Denmark) for the night without her fault and was treated like a criminal
With great difficulty, her husband contacted the Ambassador concerned and with his assistance, she was released and sent to India by Turkish
Airlines-TK-1784 from Copenhagen to Istanbul (Turkey) and thereafter flight TK-0716 on 21.03.2018 from Istanbul, ultimately reaching New
Delhi on 22.03.2018 at 5.50 a.m.She fell ill on her return and was treated at Fortis Hospital.The commission ordered that in the view of
irreparable loss - injury, mental harassment - agony and humiliation faced by the complainant, Lufthansa Airlines will pay Rs.37,50,000,
27,50,000 and Surya Travels - Associates will pay Rs.5 lakh
Apart from it, all the opposite parties shall share the litigation expenses to the tune of Rs
