- All the lavatories, including those in First Class, of the aircraft were out of order for most of the flight. By the end of the trip, the last 2 lavatories located at the back of the plane in the Economy Class were operational, and they were in terrible condition for over 200 passengers.
- The electronics systems and the in-flight entertainment were not working.
- The privacy screens were not working.
- The tray table was old, rusty, and broken, making it hard to use for any length of time.
- The lifejacket covers in the seat dividers were damaged.
Upon landing at New Delhi airport on February 29, 2024, she felt compelled to bring these issues to light, So on March 1, 2024, she sent an e-mail to the airline. The airline replied, allegedly ackowledging their failure to provide the promised ‘Business Class’ services and offered her Rs 10,000 as compensation.
Also read: Uncooked food, worn out seats: Air India business-class flyer recounts ‘nightmare’ flight to US
Feeling aggrieved, she sent a legal notice to the airline on March 26, 2024.
In their response to the legal notice, the airline supposedly acknowledged their failure to provide ‘Business Class’ services as promised and offered her Rs 15,000 as compensation. She, however, declined the offer and decided to file a consumer complaint with the New Delhi District Consumer Commission.
The complaint was filed in the New Delhi District Consumer Commission on May 6, 2024 and the judgement order (Case No. CC/153/2024) was given on January 5, 2026.
Also read: Child denied boarding due to ignorance of immigration rules by airline’s staff, traveller awarded Rs 1.25 lakh compensation
New Delhi Consumer Commission judgement
Ms. Poonam Chaudhry, President and Mr Shekhar Chandra, Member of New Delhi Consumer Commission passed this judgement on January 5, 2026.
She (the traveller) has suffered physical inconvenience
She (the traveller) had suffered physical inconvenience during the long flight which also caused mental agony and mental harassment because of the defective seats in the aircraft.
So, she told the consumer commission that the airline has to pay for the lack of service they provided.
To back up her claims, she pointed to a ruling from the District Consumer Commission in Chandigarh in the case of ‘Rajesh Chopra Vs Air India Limited’ CC 270 of 2023 decided on 02.02.2024. The details of that case was almost identical to the present one. The Consumer Commission awarded compensation and litigation fees to the complainant.
In another case, the District Consumer Commission South Mumbai ruled in ‘Rear Admiral Anil Kumar Saxena Vs, Air India Ltd.’ case, where they granted compensation for causing mental agony and litigation expenses as the seat provided to the complainant was defective and caused severe physical pain and discomfort to the complainant.
Airline is a service provider thus bound by Consumer Protection Act, 2019
The New Delhi District Consumer Commission said that under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, an airline is a “service provider” and a passenger who has paid for a ticket is a “consumer”. If the airline fails to provide facilities that are mandatory under DGCA rules (like food, water, AC, communication, accommodation, or information about delay/cancellation), that amounts to “deficiency in service”. The passenger can then claim for refund and/or compensation.
New Delhi Consumer Commission order
Considering the details of this case, the New Delhi Consumer Commission said they are of the view that the complainant (lady) is entitled to compensation for the mental agony and harassment caused by the lack of facilities for which she paid a significant amount to the OP (airline).
Therefore, commission directed the OP (airline) to pay:
- Rs 50,000 to the complainant as compensation and
- Rs 50,000 as litigation expenses to the complainant.
New Delhi Consumer Commission said that they are not inclined to pay the ticket amount as she has already availed it.
