Consumer panel asks SpiceJet to pay couple full refund for flight cancelled during Covid

Mumbai: A consumer commission here has directed private carrier SpiceJet Limited to refund a senior citizen couple the amount they had paid for a flight cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The commission held that the airline was guilty of deficiency in service by not refunding the ticket cost after the flight cancellation and despite clear guidelines from the Supreme Court and aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation).

The district consumer disputes redressal commission (Mumbai suburban) passed the order last month and its details were available recently.

As per the order, the complainants, residents of suburban Chembur, had booked two tickets on June 24, 2020, from Mumbai to Pondicherry via Bengaluru for a scheduled flight on July 1 and paid Rs 13,696 through a credit card for both tickets.

As per their complaint, the couple later received an email from the airline informing them that their flight had been cancelled.

In another email, SpiceJet told the couple that the tickets will be maintained in a credit shell which can be used to make a fresh booking for travel till March 31, 2021, for the same passengers.

But the couple requested a full refund of the ticket cost, saying they had no plans for travel.

They sent many emails to SpiceJet between September 2021 and February 2022 seeking a full refund of their money with interest.

The airline always responded positively and asked the couple to wait till the completion of formalities. Later, it sought the complainants’ bank details to "refund" the ticket booking amount.

While the complainants immediately complied, the airline didn’t return the money, prompting the senior citizens to escalate the matter to the airline’s nodal officer.

However, the nodal officer’s response was similar to that of the airline. Even a legal notice sent through their lawyers to the carrier remained unanswered, the alleged.

The couple then approached the consumer commission, seeking the booking amount of Rs 13,696 besides interest at 9 per cent per annum, Rs 1,50,000 towards mental agony and Rs 50,000 towards litigation charges.

SpiceJet contended that it tried to transfer the ticket booking amount to the account provided by the couple but the transaction was declined with remarks like “account does not exist” and “incorrect account details” in January 2023.

The commission in its order noted that the bank statements placed on record by the complainants showed that their account was active at the time of alleged transfer attempts by the airline.

The carrier failed to provide any evidence regarding the alleged transaction failures. The lack of documentary evidence “supporting the opponent’s contention undermined its credibility”, the commission said.

“Therefore, we are of the view that the opponent is reluctant to refund the ticket booking amount staging vague and unreasonable excuses,” it said.

The commission directed the airline to refund the complainants the total ticket booking amount of Rs 13,696 without deducting any charges with an interest of 9 per cent per annum from the date of the flight cancellation till the actual realisation.

The airline was also asked to pay the complainants Rs 10,000 towards mental agony and Rs 5,000 towards the cost of litigation.