Chandigarh Consumer Commission fined SpiceJet and a travel agent for incomplete refunds on COVID-cancelled flights, despite ministry advisories. Complainants received only partial reimbursements.
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Chandigarh: Recently, The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Chandigarh has taken a firm stand against SpiceJet and a travel agent for their failure to provide full refunds for flights cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bench, led by President Pawanjit Singh along with members Surjeet Kaur and Suresh Kumar Sardana, imposed a penalty totaling Rs.15,000 on the airline and the travel agent.
The Commission’s decision came after hearing two separate complaints related to flight bookings made in early April 2020. Despite clear advisories from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which mandated full refunds without any cancellation charges for flights cancelled between March 25, 2020, and April 14, 2020, the complainants were only partially refunded. The discrepancies in the refunds were significant, with one set of complainants receiving only Rs. 33,743 against the Rs.42,539 paid, and another receiving Rs.10,855 against Rs. 13,190.
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As noted in the Commission’s order:
“The OPs have completely failed to provide any justification for withholding the remaining ticket amount, especially considering the government’s strict guidelines mandating full refunds to passengers during the COVID period.”
In their defense, SpiceJet referred to a Supreme Court judgment that allowed airlines to create a credit shell for the full fare collected, valid up to March 31, 2021, subsequently extended by a year. The airline claimed that refunds, including interest, had been processed as per the judgment and forwarded to the travel agent responsible for the booking.
However, the travel agent countered by asserting that there was no negligence on his part, as he had refunded the amounts received to the complainants. Despite these defenses, the evidence presented led the Commission to conclude that both SpiceJet and the travel agent had indeed failed to comply with the government’s guidelines, resulting in illegal withholding of funds.
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As a result, the Commission ordered full refunds with interest on the already refunded amounts. Additionally, it mandated compensation for mental agony and litigation costs, amounting to Rs.5,000 each in one case, and Rs.2,000 for mental agony and Rs.3,000 for litigation costs in the other.
Advocates Nitish Kumar Vasudeva and Kamal Kant Verma presented the case for the complainants, with Advocate Gaurav Bhardwaj representing SpiceJet.
