Small BusinessConsumer court absolves airline of deficient service charges
Air passengers denied entry in Indonesia found no respite from the Delhi Consumer Commission, which exonerated Malaysian Airlines of any deficiency in service, citing absence of any reason for disallowing their entry by the immigration authorities of that country.
- Summer of 2009 - Information delay no basis for insurers to deny claim - Jet, Malaysian Airlines ink code-sharing pact
"We do not know for what reason the complainants were denied entry into Indonesia. There is no basis on which it may be said that they were denied entry because their passport was not valid for more than six months," the Commission, headed by President Barkat Ali Zaidi, said.
The airlines approached the Commission seeking to set aside the District Consumer Forum order, which held the air carrier responsible for deficiency in service and awarded compensation to the passengers who were disallowed to disembark at the Dempasar airport, Indonesia.
The complainants Sonal Malhotra and Akash Pahwa blamed the airlines for discomfort they faced after not being allowed to disembark, saying that it failed to verify their passport according to the Indonesian immigration rules.
Dismissing the passenger"s plea for compensation, the Commission said, "The mere statement of this feature (passport verification) in the affidavit of the complainants is in the circumstances wholly insufficient, particularly when, it is refuted by the airlines."
The airlines said that there was no deficiency in service as it could not be held responsible for the act of immigration authorities of Indonesia.