New Delhi, January 15: Low-carrier carrier GoAir in the last week had to pay a heavy price to a Mumbai man for cancelling his flight tickets 'without reason'. Reports inform that the consumer forum directed GoAir to pay more than Rs 98,000 in compensation to a Vile Parle resident for cancelling 25 tickets that he had booked in 2015. However, when GoAir was contacted, they said they had nothing to say, stating that the verdict was already out in the case. Flyers May Get Rs 20,000 Compensation For Delayed & Cancelled Flights in India.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the man, Jayesh Pandya, had booked 25 tickets for guests from Ahmedabad to attend his daughter’s wedding in Mumbai. Pandya had spent Rs 50,000 on these tickets in May 2014 to fly in his guests to Mumbai on February 17, 2015. Apart from this, he had purchased the tickets for 24 passengers on another airline which cost him Rs 88,816. Taking cognizance of the incident, the forum directed the airline to refund Pandya Rs 50,000 for the tickets, and Rs 38,816 for the excess amount Pandya paid for Vistara airlines and Rs 10,000 as additional compensation. IndiGo to Pay Rs. 20,000 Compensation to Passengers for Leaving Them Behind at Kolkata Airport. 

According to the HT report, the man said that he had made the wedding pooja arrangements based on the flight timings. The man said that when he contacted GoAir in January 2015 to submit the passengers’ names, the airline staff informed that the flight was cancelled and gave no valid reason for it.

Anguished by the airlines’ carelessness, the man wrote to GoAir seeking reimbursement for his expenses in February 2015. However, the airline gave him a Rs 3,000 credit voucher, saying that the refund was being processed, but he did not hear from GoAir after that. Soon after, Pandya filed an RTI query with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation about GoAir’s change in schedule on February 17, 2015. After he found there were no changes in flight timings, the man approached the forum in November 2016.

The report states that GoAir told the forum that flight timings had been changed on September 6, 2014, as per DGCA’s winter schedule. However, the forum noted that the airline made a false submission. GoAir claimed that it had contacted Pandya through email about the cancellation, but the forum noted they did not produce any proof. The report states that GoAir, however, submitted copies of emails from March 2015 reflecting refund discussion.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2019 10:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).