Qatar Airways ordered to pay ₹10 lakh to Kannur family for denying boarding to minors

The Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Qatar Airways to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation and Rs 25,000 as litigation expenses to a family in Kannur after their two minor children were denied boarding during their return journey from Kochi to Italy.

The decision was taken following a complaint filed by Roshan Jose, a native of Chemberi in Kannur, and his two minor sons. Mr Jose and his wife Vinaya, who both live in Italy, had traveled from Venice to Kochi via Doha with Qatar Airways in November 2018 after the airline verified their travel documents and issued their boarding passes without objection.

According to the decision, Mr. Jose had a family visa that did not include the name of his youngest son, who was 10 months old at the time, because the process was ongoing and the authorities issued a receipt for it, which was considered a travel document.

However, during the return journey on December 3, 2018, the airline did not allow their elder son, then 6 years old, to board at Kochi airport due to lack of an independent visa. The parents left their elder children with relatives in Kerala and then went to Doha with their younger sons as both had to go to Italy to work. In Doha, the airline once again refused to allow the baby to board the Venice-bound flight despite having issued a boarding pass from Kochi, forcing the father to return to Kerala with the child.

emotional distress

The family then had to obtain new travel documents and send both children back to Italy separately, resulting in additional expenses. They also claimed that the airline’s action caused emotional distress to children who were separated from their parents for several weeks.

During the hearing, Qatar Airways argued that passengers were solely responsible for carrying valid travel documents and that passengers were prohibited by various agreements and conventions, as this was a standard practice of various airlines operating internationally.

However, the commission observed that the airline accepted the same documents for the outbound journey and even issued boarding passes for the return journey. It later ruled that the denial was arbitrary, inconsistent and amounted to a lack of service as well as unfair trade practice.

“The mental anguish, emotional trauma and untold hardships experienced by the parents were the direct and inevitable result of the wrongful conduct of the opposite party,” said the order issued by commission chairman DB Binu and members V. Ramachandran and Sreevidhia TN.