Hyderabad man to get Rs 2.76 lakhs from Etihad Airways over cancelled flight during Covid

Hyderabad: It took Mayur Mullagiri nearly four years to win his lawsuit against Etihad Airways for refusing to reimburse the cost of his ticket to the United States of America during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The consumer commission concluded that Mayur is entitled to get a refund of Rs 2.76 lakh along with 12 per cent interest per annum from March 31, 2021.

It also ordered Etihad Airways to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental agony and suffering and Rs 5,000 to cover the costs of Mayur within 45 days of receipt of the order.

Case details

Mayur Mullagiri, a Banjara Hills inhabitant and businessman often took his wife Chaithanya Chand Chandra on trips overseas. They consequently decided to book a trip to the USA and selected Etihad Airways. He booked tickets for New York on January 24, 2020, intending to travel on April 2, 2020.

Since the tour was pre-planned, they also paid Rs 2,76,709 to reserve return tickets for May 10, 2020. The Etihad Airways issued the tickets and confirmed the same through an e-mail. But as the Covid pandemic spread, nations enforced stringent lockdowns throughout 2020. Even India imposed a shutdown from March 25, 2020, to May 31, 2020.

The lockdown during this time forced Mayur and his wife who were scheduled to travel on the Etihad Airways to cancel their arrangements. Since there was no travel permitted during the lockdown, the pre-booked tickets were automatically cancelled. Etihad Airways refused to return the ticket price in defiance of government regulations and orders from the Supreme Court.

With no option left, Mayur knocked on the doors of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-III, Hyderabad for justice. After hearing all the arguments, the commission asked Etihad Airways to compensate Mayur for not issuing a refund despite the government regulations and orders from the Supreme Court. It ordered Etihad Airways to refund Rs 2.76 lakh along with 12 per cent interest per annum from March 31, 2021, another Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental agony and suffering and Ra 5,000 to cover the costs of Mayur.

Etihad Airways did not opt to refund

Since the day of the lockdown, Mayur has been in frequent follow-ups with Etihad Airways, seeking reimbursement or rescheduling of the tickets. However, Etihad Airways did not opt for either refunding the amounts or trying to reschedule the tickets. On March 30, 2020, Mayur received an email from Etihad Airways directing them to rebook before September 30, 2020, for travel by April 30, 2021, with the fare difference to be applied and the change penalty remitted.

Etihad Airways customer support failed to respond

Regretfully, Mayur was unable to make any new reservations within the deadlines specified in the email because Etihad Airways will not begin operating flights to the US until early 2022 and the US would not reopen for international travel until late November 2021. Mayur came to know that the US opened its borders to foreign travel on August 11, 2021, via a local newspaper. After that, he called the Etihad Airways customer service number several times and was left without a response.

Inquiring about how to rebook flights, Mayur addressed an email to reservations@etihad.ae on November 20, 2021, including their PNR number for reference. Etihad Airways, however, is unwilling to give a future schedule or reimburse the money. Mayur’s PNR number was disabled and inactive until January 3, 2022, which prevented him from filing any more complaints. Mayur experienced extreme mental, physical, and financial hardship as a result of this block, which prevented his status from being resolved.

Etihad Airways did not appear before consumer redressal

After Mayur approached the commission for redressal, Etihad Airways failed to appear despite receipt of notice sent by Mayur on July 31, 2023. During the inquiry, Mayur filed his affidavit with the commission for redressal. Mayur’s counsel made oral submissions. Since there was no representation from Etihad Airways, the matter was reserved for orders.

The commission for redressal took note in the case of Pravasi Legal Cell & Ors vs Union of India which dealt with the issue of refund of flight charges for cancelled flights during the Covid-19 lockdown. The Supreme Court took into consideration the affidavit of the Director General of Civil Aviation, which stated: “If the tickets are booked for travel abroad on a foreign carrier and the booking is ex-India, the airlines will provide a full refund for travel within the lockdown period, and the agent booking the tickets will promptly transfer the amount to the passengers if the tickets were booked through an agent. The airline will provide the passenger a refund of the money received within three weeks in all other circumstances.”

Etihad Airways customer support failed to respond

In light of the aforementioned conclusions and discussions, the consumer redressal took into consideration the opinion that Etihad Airways has not refunded the full amount of flight charges, despite multiple requests from Mayur to either reschedule the flights or refund the flight charges, as well as explicit directives from the DGCA and orders from the Supreme Court in this regard. Furthermore, by ending the PNR without finding a solution, they have kept the money for flights that aren’t actually operating. This is nothing more than an unjust trade practice and a service failure on the side of Etihad Airways.