Baggage delay: Lufthansa asked to pay up Rs 2.5 lakh

“The circumstance of delay in delivering baggage itself amounts to deficiency in service for which (a) consumer is entitled for compensation,” Commission president Justice J D Kapoor ruled.

According to the complaint, Khanna went to Europe on a business trip in October 1999 and took a Lufthansa flight back from London. At the airport in London, the authorities checked his baggage containing business orders worth over £14,000 and attached a tag number to it as per norm. But on reaching Delhi, Khanna told the consumer commission, the luggage with the tag number was not his.

He then informed the Lufthansa office — both here and in Frankfurt.

Eighteen days after the incident, Khanna’s baggage was finally delivered, though in a “highly pilfered condition”. The airlines accepted the delay but denied any negligence on its part. It also cited provisions under the Carrier Act to contend that Khanna was only entitled to compensation at the rate of US$ 20 per kilogram.

The airlines later sent him a cheque worth Rs 9,167 and a discounted ticket to the US as compensation. Khanna then approached the consumer panel, seeking a compensation of Rs 17 lakh.

The airlines argued before the Commission that though there had been delay, the baggage was later delivered in good condition.

Justice Kapoor however, held Lufthansa’s services to be “deficient, resulting in unnecessary mental harassment, loss of business and agony of the consumer”.