Hyderabad: The Consumer court in Hyderabad ordered Etihad Airways to pay Rs 1,11,248, to a customer after they failed to refund or reschedule the tickets of a passenger after his flight from Hyderabad to New York, via Dubai was cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2021.
Etihad has been directed to pay an additional Rs 20,000 in compensation along with 9% interest from cancellation to date, included in the overall amount to be returned, they must comply within 45 days from June 27, or they will incur an additional 3% interest. It was also asked to pay Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.
The passenger, who filed a complaint with the consumer forum, in February 2021, had approached Etihad’s office in Mehdipatnam to book his flight tickets to New York from Hyderabad with a stopover in Dubai, via Abu Dhabi.
After the flights were cancelled, the complainant claimed despite several attempts to reach out to the airlines, they failed to refund or reschedule the tickets. However, Etihad claimed that the complainant approached them in July 2021, way after the extended deadline of March 2022.
Etihad had earlier extended the deadline for refunds or rescheduling from October to March amid COVID-19. However, an email addressed to Etihad’s customer support dated May 2022 was found, indicating that he filed an appeal within the deadline given.
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