Consumer commission orders refund for cancelled Canada-India flight

CHANDIGARH · A consumer commission in Chandigarh has ordered an online travel booking portal and an airline to refund 70,878 rupees to a man whose son's flight from Canada to India was cancelled. The commission also directed the companies to pay 15,000 rupees in compensation and costs, bringing the total payout to 85,878 rupees. In an order dated October 19, the commission found the portal and airline deficient in service for refusing the refund after initially telling the complainant the process had started. The bench, comprising president Pawanjit Singh and member Mohan Sharma, said this inconsistency caused the complainant mental agony and harassment.

The complainant had booked tickets for his son to travel from Winnipeg to New Delhi on November 3, 2022. The itinerary included a flight from Winnipeg to Toronto operated by one airline, followed by travel from Toronto to New Delhi via Abu Dhabi with another airline. Due to a personal emergency, the complainant cancelled the booking on October 28, 2022, just a day after the reservation was made and seven days before the scheduled departure. The travel portal registered the cancellation and informed the complainant that it had been accepted and that the refund process had been initiated with the airlines. However, three days later, on October 31, 2022, the portal refused to refund the money, citing the non-refundable nature of the tickets. Despite repeated requests and a legal notice from the complainant, the money was not returned.

"The communication refusing a refund merely on the ground that the booking was non-refundable, after the earlier communication regarding initiation of a refund, demonstrates inconsistency in the services rendered by the travel booking portal," the commission's order stated. It concluded that the failure to refund the amount amounted to deficiency in service and caused the complainant financial loss, inconvenience and mental agony. Neither airline appeared before the commission, so the proceedings against them continued ex parte. The online travel platform argued it was merely an intermediary and facilitator of the booking, not responsible for the airlines' cancellation policies. It also contended that the booking confirmation clearly stated the tickets were non-refundable.

The commission rejected this argument. It noted that the portal had acknowledged the cancellation and represented that the refund process had begun. "A consumer cannot be left remediless merely because the intermediary seeks to shift the entire responsibility upon the airlines," the commission observed. It held that the portal could not avoid its obligations after facilitating the booking and undertaking to handle the cancellation. The commission's order reinforces that online travel platforms may not evade consumer responsibility simply by describing themselves as booking intermediaries, particularly when they have undertaken to process cancellations. For passengers, the case highlights the importance of retaining booking confirmations, cancellation acknowledgements and all refund-related communications with travel platforms.

With files from The Financial Express and The Indian Express