Consumer court orders Indigo to pay couple ₹70k for delay in delivering luggage, spoiling holiday mood

A Bengaluru consumer court recently directed Indigo Airlines to pay ₹70,000 to a couple who had their vacation in Port Blair spoiled due to a delay in receiving their checked-in luggage..A coram comprising President Shivarama K and members Chandrashekar S Noola and Rekha Sayannvar passed the order after concluding that there was a deficiency of service on the part of Indigo..Indigo was ordered to pay ₹50,000 as compensation, apart from ₹10,000 for the mental agony suffered by the couple and ₹10,000 to cover their litigation costs. ."The Act of the opposite party [Indigo] had spoiled the holiday mood of the complainants. Further the complainants had important items ... in the check-in-baggage and they were compelled to go to the local market and purchase clothes and other items amounting [to] Rs 5,000/-. Further, even though opposite party staff promised that the luggage would reach the next day... the same had not reached... Hence, there is deficiency of service on the part of the opposite party," stated the order passed by the third Additional Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission..By way of background, on November 1, 2021, the couple booked their trip with Indigo Airlines, to travel from Bengaluru to Port Blair.Upon reaching their intended vacation destination, they were disheartened to find that their checked-in luggage, containing crucial items like clothing, medications, and ferry tickets for their Andaman boat rides, had not arrived in Port Blair.Thereafter, the couple lodged a complaint with Indigo and submitted a Property Irregularity Report. The ground crew of Indigo assured them that their misplaced bags would be delivered to them on the next day (November 2). However, the luggage was received only on November 3..Subsequently, on November 18, the couple sent a legal notice to InterGlobe Aviation Limited, the parent company of Indigo Airlines. A year later, they approached a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Bengaluru, and filed a complaint against the airline, seeking compensation for the disruption of their vacation.The counsel for the couple argued that since there was a delay in securing their luggage, they were put to irrecoverable injury. It was also argued that IndiGo was aware that the luggage was not loaded on the November 1 flight, but had concealed this aspect to the couple. .On September 26, the district consumer court partly allowed their complaint and directed the airlines to pay ₹70,000 within 45 days. The airlines would have to pay interest at the rate of 9 percent per annum if there is any delay in making the payment, the consumer forum added. .[Read Order]