Travelling abroad with kids? This ₹10 lakh ruling against Qatar Airways could protect your rights

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC), Ernakulam, has directed Qatar Airways to pay ₹10 lakh in compensation to an Italy-based Indian family after holding the airline guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice for denying boarding to the family's two minor children during their return journey from Kochi to Venice. The order was passed by a bench comprising President D.B. Binu and Members V. Ramachandran and Sreevidhia T.N.

What happened?

According to the complaint, Roshan Jose, an immigrant residing in Italy, had travelled with his wife Vinaya and their two children from Venice to Kochi via Doha in 2018 using Qatar Airways. The airline had verified all travel documents and allowed the family to complete the onward journey without objection.

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However, during the return trip from Kochi to Venice, the airline refused boarding to the couple's elder child, claiming an independent visa was required, according to Bar and Bench. After further delays in Doha, the airline also denied boarding to the family's 10-month-old breastfeeding infant, despite having already issued a boarding pass following document verification at Kochi.

Commission slams airline

Rejecting Qatar Airways' defence that Italian immigration authorities had refused permission for the children to travel, the Commission observed that the airline had already accepted the same travel documents during the family's journey from Venice to Kochi.

In a strongly worded order, the Commission said, "The conduct of the opposite party in preventing a child from accompanying his parents on the return journey is wholly arbitrary and has shocked the conscience of this Commission." It further held that if the children's documents were truly inadequate, the airline should never have allowed them to undertake the onward journey in the first place.

Parents suffered severe hardship

The Commission noted that the parents were forced to leave their children with relatives in Kerala to avoid losing their jobs in Italy. It observed, "The mental agony, emotional trauma and untold hardship suffered by the parents were the direct and inevitable consequence of the wrongful conduct of the opposite party," according to Bar and Bench.

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Compensation awarded

Allowing the complaint in Roshan Jose & Ors. v. Qatar Airways, the Commission directed the airline to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation for mental agony and hardship, along with ₹25,000 towards litigation costs. The amount must be paid within 45 days, failing which it will attract 9% annual interest from the date of filing of the complaint until realisation. The complainants were represented by Advocate S. Asokan, while Advocate Philip T. Varghese appeared for Qatar Airways.