(Image source from: Matador Network)

Airlines have in many cases held responsible for mishandling passengers’ luggage. While many air passengers received their luggage in a shabby condition, some others didn’t receive them at all.

Recently, Haryana’s Panchkula district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed Jet Airways to pay Rs 58,000 to a Non-Resident Indian whose bag went missing once he landed in India from Canada.

On October 2016, Jasbir Singh Purba a resident of Ontario, Canada, and his wife were carrying a total of four bags. Once they landed at the New Delhi airport, they received only three of them. The fourth bag not only contained luxury clothes worth Rs 1.30 lakh but also medication of heart ailment and high blood pressure for his wife’s diabetes.

Jasbir then contacted the employees of the airline who asked him to fill an application form and assured that his baggage will be delivered the next day, according to a report in Times of India.

Jasbir said that he along with his wife had to endure a lot of trauma, stress, agony, and harassment upon losing such expensive luggage. On November 05, 2016 the airline delivered the baggage at Jasbir’s address but allegedly in destroyed and broken beyond usage condition.

After forum sent a notice to Jet Airways and the representatives appeared before the forum, they laid the blame on Jasbir of raising fake claims so that the company could be blamed of deficiency in service.

Jet Airways representatives said that the complainant had not disclosed the value of his baggage at the time of check-in.

According to the forum, Jasbir had to purchase new clothes in an emergency, which he already had in his bag. On the basis of observation of case, the clothes purchased by him, amounting to Rs 1.30 lakh, would be used in the future, hence, they deemed it just, fair and reasonable to recompense the complainant to the extent of 1/3rd of the expenses subject by him on account of purchase of cloth items.

The forum directed Jet Airways to pay Rs 43,333 which is one-third of Rs 1.30 lakh on account of damages suffered by Jasbir as well as Rs 10,000 on account of harassment, mental agony, and Rs 5,500 as litigation charges.

By Sowmya Sangam