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Lufthansa, British Airways, travel firm penalised after 60-year-old Chandigarh woman spends night in lock-up at Copenhagen airport

The complaint states was not given wheelchair or diabetic diet; was stuck without visa after flights were re-routed.

Lufthansa Airlines, british airways, chandigarh woman at Copenhagen police station, chandigarh woman detained at Copenhagen, chandigarh woman stuck at Copenhagen, chandigarh city news The woman alleged that Lufthansa Airlines, without consulting her, re-routed her journey from San Francisco to New Delhi and she was handed over a ticket for the same via London on British Airways instead.

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh has ordered Lufthansa Airlines, British Airways and a travel agency to pay Rs 70 lakh as compensation and litigation cost to a 60-year-old Chandigarh woman who had to spend a night in the lock-up of airport police at Copenhagen (Denmark) due to re-routing of flights from San Francisco to Delhi.

In the judgment released Wednesday, the commission held, “If a lady is detained publicly at an airport, it amounts to ignominy and it will gravely lower the reputation of the detainee. In fact her arrest and detention…without her fault and due to sheer negligence of both the airlines requires that the exemplary cost be imposed.”

Harsharn Kaur Dhaliwal had made a round-trip booking through Surya Travels and Associates at Chandigarh, with Swiss Air and Lufthansa to travel from New Delhi to San Francisco via Zurich, and return-journey tickets from San Francisco to New Delhi via Frankfurt. Dhaliwal’s journey from Delhi was on January 18, 2018, where she claimed was not provided diabetic food and a wheelchair.

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Dhaliwal alleged that on her return journey on March 19, 2018, she boarded a Lufthansa flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt and was issued a boarding pass. She then remained in the plane for about three hours but it could not take off.

She was then told to de-board and collect her baggage. Dhaliwal said in her complaint that on de-boarding, she was not provided wheelchair assistance and it was difficult for her to locate and collect her luggage. She however managed to call her son to the airport to collect the luggage.

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The woman alleged that Lufthansa Airlines, without consulting her, re-routed her journey from San Francisco to New Delhi and she was handed over a ticket for the same via London on British Airways instead.

As per the new arrangement, the first flight was from San Francisco to London, from where she had to fly to Copenhagen, and then by Air India from Copenhagen to New Delhi.

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However, the flight from San Francisco arrived late at Heathrow airport and the connecting flight from London to Copenhagen had already departed. She was then made to board another flight which departed London at 7.05 pm on March 20, 2018, and reached Copenhagen at 10 pm. Again there was no connecting flight to New Delhi, as per schedule, argued the complainant.

Dhaliwal alleged that she was stranded at the airport without visa. She said that it was the duty Lufthansa Airlines and British Airways, which re-routed her return journey, to provide transit visa of Copenhagen.

Dhaliwal alleged that she was “unauthorizedly detained by Airport Police at Copenhagen for a 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 again sent to India via Turkish Airlines from Copenhagen to Istanbul and thereafter boarded another flight on March 21 from Istanbul and reached New Delhi the next day at 5.50 a.m, the complainant said. Dhaliwal, who was then under treatment at Fortis hospital, filed a formal complaint against the two airlines at the commission on May 2, 2019.

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Lufthansa, in its reply, submitted that the complaint is not maintainable against it. As per Clause 14.6 of the Conditions of Carriage, their responsibility was limited to rebooking of passengers in another aircraft or carrier’s flight and it kept the complainant updated about the state of flights and also made endeavour to re-route/re-book the tickets immediately, it said. Furthermore, necessity of transit visa arose as the re-routed flight operated by British Airways from San Francisco to London was delayed in landing at London Heathrow Airport.

The Lufthansa German Airlines also submitted that the complainant was offered compensation equal to 600 euros in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of European Parliament and of the Council but she refused to accept it.

The British Airways in its written reply submitted that it has nothing to do with the purchase of tickets by the complainant from (Surya Travels). The airways said had no role to play either for supply of wheelchair or special meals to the complainant and for the inconvenience caused to her during journey, and that they were not aware about the onward journey to Copenhagen.

At the time of booking of tickets by Lufthansa, the special requirement of wheelchair and special diet was nowhere mentioned, and thus was not provided, it said.

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Survya Travels and Associates replied that while returning to New Delhi, there was an immediate change in the boarding of the flight, which was done by two airlines due to technical issues, and that the complainant has already received compensation from the insurance company.

Advocate Aman Dhir, counsel for complainant, argued in the commission that Dhaliwal was arbitrarily sent on the route, for which she did not have visa and even the transit visa was not provided to her, due to which she had suffered great mental agony.

The commission held that, “Before re-routing her journey, it was the duty of both Lufthansa Airlines and British Airways to get her travel visa in those countries, whereby she has been permitted to travel or they should arrange for her transit visa, but…she was treated in a rude and unacceptable behaviour. She was taken into custody by Border Police and confined in a lockup at the Copenhagen airport, solely due to the reason that neither Lufthansa Airlines nor British Airways made any arrangements for her transit visa…” The commission, after going through photographs of the lock-up submitted by Dhaliwal, stated that police personnel kept a watch on her as if she was a criminal, and even accompanied her when she went to attend nature’s call and that there was no provision of water at night, as all shops within the airport premises were closed.

The commission thus asked Lufthansa Airlines and British Airways to pay Rs 64.5 lakh to the woman as compensation, while directing Surya Travels and Associates to pay Rs 5 lakh to her. The two airlines and the travel firm were also directed to pay Rs 50,000 in equal shares to the woman as cost of litigation.

First uploaded on: 06-02-2020 at 07:37 IST
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