A consumer court in Kerala has penalized Qatar Airways, directing the airline to pay Rs 10.25 lakh in compensation and legal costs for refusing to allow two minor children to board their return flight to Italy, forcing their working parents to leave them behind in India.
The Ernakulam Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission ruled that the airline was liable for service deficiency and unfair trade practices. The commission ordered the carrier to pay Rs 10 lakh for emotional distress and Rs 25,000 for litigation expenses within 45 days. Failure to comply within this period will attract a 9 percent annual interest rate on the compensation from the date the complaint was filed.
Document Dispute Disrupts Return Journey
The case originated from a family trip in late 2018. The complainant, who lives and works in Italy with his wife, had booked round-trip tickets with Qatar Airways for his family to travel from Venice to Kochi via Doha. While the onward journey proceeded without issue after document verification, the return leg on December 3, 2018, faced major disruptions at Kochi airport.
Airport staff delayed the family for over two and a half hours before denying boarding to the couple’s older child, claiming he did not possess an independent Italian visa. To avoid losing their jobs in Italy, the parents chose to leave the child with relatives in Kerala and boarded the flight with their younger, breastfeeding infant.
Transit Refusals Cause Further Separation
The family’s difficulties escalated during their transit in Doha. Despite having already issued boarding passes, airline staff stopped the parents and infant from boarding the connecting flight to Italy, raising new objections regarding the infant’s travel documents.
After keeping the family waiting for 10 hours, Qatar Airways refused to let the infant travel. Consequently, the mother proceeded to Italy alone while the father flew back to Kochi with the baby. The father later secured a separate visa to bring the elder child to Italy, temporarily leaving the infant behind in India with relatives. The complainant alleged that these actions caused the family significant financial loss and severe emotional trauma.
Court Rejects Airline Defense
Qatar Airways argued that passengers are solely responsible for ensuring they hold valid visas and travel documents for their entire journey, including transit and final destinations.
However, the commission, led by President D B Binu and members Ramachandran V and Sreevidhia T N, rejected the airline’s defense. The panel ruled that an airline cannot accept travel documents for an onward journey and subsequently deny the return leg using the exact same papers. The commission concluded that the wrongful conduct of the airline directly forced the parents to separate from their children, including a lactating infant, causing them severe mental agony and hardship.
