‘Stranded’ before US university orientation, airlines to pay father, son Rs 1.6 lakh

US trip for university orientation

The complainant, one Mohit Bansal, alleged that after reaching Delhi airport, IndiGo staff issued them boarding passes only up to Istanbul and informed that their onward flight to Detroit had been cancelled. He claimed he received no intimation of the cancellation beforehand, although airlines are duty-bound to notify passengers in advance. IndiGo also allegedly offered a hotel stay, but Bansal chose to stay with relatives in Gurgaon.

Despite assurances of a revised itinerary, it was alleged that no arrangements were made, and Turkish Airlines later confirmed no seat availability to Detroit until August 20, 2025.

The man added that since his son had mandatory university orientation in the USA starting on August 18, 2025, he was forced to purchase an emergency ticket from Lufthansa Airlines at an exorbitant cost of Rs 2.37 lakh, and they also had to cancel the hotel bookings in the US, resulting in partial refund losses of Rs 15,739 and forfeiture of non-refundable bookings worth Rs 28,721.

It was further added that the emails exchanged with both airlines revealed that Turkish Airlines shifted the responsibility to IndiGo, while the latter offered only a compensation of Rs 20,000 per passenger and wrongly claimed that an alternative flight was offered. Aggrieved, the man moved the commission seeking a refund and compensation from both airlines. He was represented by advocate Neha Mathroo in the matter.

Airlines’ defence

Representing Indigo Airlines, advocates Shrey Goel and Kritika Gupta submitted that the man and his son reached Delhi airport to board the flight, but due to extraordinary operational reasons beyond their control, they were downgraded, resulting in seat constraints.

The counsel added that the airline offered them an alternative flight and hotel accommodation, which they declined, and subsequently, sent an email alleging inconvenience, to which they were offered compensation of Rs 20,000 per passenger, but it was also declined.

It was also argued that in codeshare arrangements in aviation, the operating airline’s conditions take precedence over those of the marketing airline. Here, Turkish Airlines was the marketing carrier, while IndiGo operated only the first leg of the journey. A codeshare flight is a shared journey where one airline sells the ticket (marketing carrier) and a different airline flies the plane (operating carrier).

Turkish Airlines, represented by advocate Anshul Jain, on the contrary, submitted that it acted with due care and in strict conformity with its contractual, regulatory, and operational obligations. It was added that the alleged disruption occurred on the Delhi–Istanbul operating sector operated by IndiGo Airlines under a codeshare arrangement, while Turkish Airlines was only the marketing carrier with no operational control over the aircraft, crew, or dispatch.

They sought dismissal of the complaint against Turkish Airlines, claiming that upon receiving intimation of the disruption and on the request of the passengers, it promptly processed and effected full refunds to the passengers, Rs 67,209 to son and Rs 1.04 lakh to Bansal, and credited to the same mode of payment used for booking.

‘Full refund not received for hotel booking’

The commission noted that Bansal had to purchase new tickets at a higher rate compared to the original booking with the airlines and also found that he had paid the advance for the hotel but did not receive a full refund for the same. Observing that Bansal incurred Rs 2.37 lakh for the new tickets, whereas Turkish Airlines refunded Rs 1.71 lakh for the cancelled ticket, it found that the airline is liable to pay the differential amount of Rs 65,798.

It also held that the airline must reimburse Rs 44,460 towards the hotel charges not refunded to the complainant and found that both airlines are liable to provide a refund to the man, apart from compensation for the mental agony and harassment suffered due to the deficiency in service

Accordingly, the commission directed the airlines to jointly refund Rs 1.10 lakh to Bansal along with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from August 15, 2025, when the flight was scheduled. They were also directed to pay a consolidated amount of 50,000 to the complainant for causing mental agony and harassment.

Significance of ruling

This ruling highlights that airlines operating under codeshare arrangements cannot leave passengers stranded without making reasonable alternate travel arrangements.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories (Chandigarh: 0172-270-0183) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance