Airline asked to compensate flier

MUMBAI: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, after telling airline operators that they cannot get away with flight delays every time citing technical snags, directed Air Lanka to pay a compensation of Rs 75,000 to a Mumbai flier.
The fight has taken 10 years of Chembur resident Mulloli Muhammadali's life but he is not complaining. Muhammadali, who runs a business of selling fruits and vegetables in Bahrain, was to fly Air Lanka from Mumbai to Colombo on April 6, 1999; his flight was at 12.20 pm and he was to take a connecting flight from Colombo to Bahrain at 5 pm.
Muhammadali claimed he was issued a boarding pass and his ticket for the entire journey was confirmed.But the first flight, scheduled to leave Mumbai at 12.20 pm, left only at 8.30 pm and, consequently, he missed the connecting flight. Muhammadali's visa for stay in Sri Lanka was expiring the next day and so he requested the airline staff to make arrangements for him to reach Bahrain before the deadline.
He was then issued another ticket for a flight to Bahrain that was slated to leave at 2.25 pm the next day but even that flight was delayed; he left Colombo airport six hours late and reached Dubai late.
But there was more trouble for him; he could not go to Bahrain from Dubai as his visa for the Bahrain stay had expired and he was forced to report to the immigration authorities at Dubai airport. He had to remain at Dubai airport for five days till a friend there arranged for his return ticket to Mumbai.
Air Lanka counsel Phiroz Bharucha argued that the inability to fly Muhammadali to his destination was because of reasons beyond the airline's control. He pointed out that a condition was printed on tickets issued to all passengers and it clearly mentioned that the time shown in the schedule was not guaranteed and formed no part of this contract, and that schedules were subject to change without notice. It was also stated that the carrier assumed no responsibility for connecting flights.
Bharucha said Muhammadali was offered two tickets from Mumbai to Bahrain, plus the visa fee amount or monetary relief equivalent to two tickets as compensation, but he refused the offer.
Presiding member P N Kashalkar observed that had Muhammadali got both the flights on time, he would have reached Bahrain well before his visa was to expire. "We can't buy the Air Lanka argument that flights got delayed simply because of a technical snag. This is a general statement advanced by flight operators throughout the world. They should have placed on record before us the exact problems faced by the first flight taking the complainant from Mumbai to Colombo and further details of the problems faced by its second aircraft, which was to take him from Colombo to Dubai,'' he said.
Kashalkar added: "We are granting compensation because the delays were not reasonably explained.'' But the court said Air Lanka could not be held responsible for Muhammadali's plight in Dubai.