Gulf Air Fined for Denying Chennai Man Boarding in Moscow Over Single Name Passport
The Chennai North Zone Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Gulf Air Airlines to compensate a former legislator from Tamil Nadu who was denied travel to Moscow airport because his surname was not included in his passport.
The airlines have been directed to pay compensation of around Rs 1.4 lakh to the affected passenger, former MLA and advocate Nizamudeen, along with nine per cent interest per annum from the date of travel.
A resident of Periamet here was prevented from boarding a Gulf Air flight at Moscow airport because he had only one name on his passport.
He was scheduled to travel from Moscow to Dubai via Bahrain on a Gulf Air flight on February 9, 2023, but was denied travel because his passport contained only the name Nizamudeen without his surname. Nizamudeen claimed that he was allowed to board the flight from India to Moscow with the same name on his passport.
He had a meeting in Dubai the next day, but the airline’s ground staff were “inconsiderate” against his wishes and kept him waiting for almost an hour and a half. He came under great stress and hardship due to the inordinate delay in reaching the UAE, which forced him to file a complaint.
The Commission, led by D Gopinath and members V Ramamurthy and Kavitha Kannan, recently found that the amendment to the ground rule allowing passengers with one name to travel if their surname appears on another page of the travel document was not followed in the former MLA case.
The commission said the airlines have also been directed to refund the ticket cost of Rs 29,689 and pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation for lack of service, monetary loss, mental anguish and agony and a total of Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses within two months.
