In a notable verdict, the Gandhinagar District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission ordered Deutsche Lufthansa AG to compensate a passenger who missed his flight due to the airline’s failure to inform him about visa requirements. Maharshi Yadav, 25, a student travelling to Canada for higher studies, was denied boarding for lacking a Schengen visa, leading to significant financial loss and emotional distress.
On April 13, 2022, Yadav was stopped at Mumbai Airport and could not proceed to his connecting flight from Munich to Toronto because he did not have the mandatory Schengen visa required for the layover in Germany. The information was crucial and should have been communicated at the time of ticket booking, argued Yadav.
Yadav booked his flight in February 2022, planning to transit through Munich and Frankfurt en route to Toronto. The oversight led him to purchase a last-minute ticket on Emirates Airlines, costing him an additional Rs 1.70 lakh. Following the incident, Yadav and his mother, Pushpa Yadav, sought legal recourse by filing a complaint on March 14, 2023, alleging unfair trade practices by Lufthansa for not providing the necessary visa information.
Despite a legal notice sent on May 2, 2022, Lufthansa delayed its response by two months and ultimately declined a refund, further aggravating the situation.
The Court’s Decision
The consumer court sided with Yadav, awarding him Rs 1 lakh for mental anguish and Rs 67,612 as a refund for the unused ticket. The court also mandated an 8% interest on the refund amount from the date of filing the complaint. Lufthansa was given 30 days from the receipt of the judgment to comply with the order.
Defending its position, Lufthansa maintained that passengers are responsible for obtaining necessary visas and that Yadav had cancelled his ticket voluntarily—a claim that the court dismissed.
Schengen Visa Requirements
The Schengen visa enables short-term travel within the 27 countries of the Schengen Area, permitting free movement across member countries for up to 90 days within six months. Travellers need to be aware of their visa requirements when transiting through Europe to avoid similar disruptions.
