Hyderabad: A Hyderabad consumer commission has ordered AirAsia Berhad and its operations to compensate a woman passenger after she was denied boarding on an international flight because of a stain on her passport.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-1 directed the airline to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation along with Rs 15,000 towards litigation costs.
AirAsia stops woman in Hyderabad over passport stain
The complaint was filed by Hyderabad resident Aparna Rajan who was not allowed to board an AirAsia flight from Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur on August 4, 2022.
Rajan stated that although, she possessed a valid passport and visa at the time of travel, airline staff refused to issue her a boarding pass after noticing stains on her passport.
At the time, Rajan had completed her MBA in Australia and had received a job offer in Adelaide. Following the denial of boarding, she purchased a new ticket on Singapore Airlines and travelled on August 18, 2022.
According to the complaint, no issues were raised regarding her passport during that journey. She later approached the consumer commission.
Other side of the story
On the other hand, AirAsia claimed that a stained passport could be treated as a damaged travel document. As per the airline, it could face legal consequences if immigration authorities rejected the passenger after arrival.
However, the commission found that AirAsia failed to provide evidence showing that the stain had made the Hyderabad woman’s passport invalid or unsuitable for travel. It also noted that there was no indication that immigration authorities had objected to the passport.
The commission further observed that the airline did not refund the ticket amount after refusing to allow the passenger to board the flight.
The airline has 45 days to comply with the order. After the completion of the period, the compensation amount will attract interest at the rate of 9 percent from the date of the complaint until the payment is made.
