The aviation regulator has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Akasa Air for failing to compensate 7 passengers denied boarding on a Sept 6 Bengaluru-Pune flight. TOI looks at compensation norms for being denied boarding.
September incident
The aircraft scheduled for the route was grounded and the replacement aircraft had nine non-operational seats. So Akasa transferred 7 passengers to an IndiGo flight that departed nearly two hours later.
The question is: how does flight time difference between original and alternative flights decide quantum of compensation?
The rules
- Airlines can legally deny boarding. To reduce the possibility of flight departing with empty seats (some passengers don’t show up) airlines can overbook flights to a limited extent.
- When more passengers report than the number of available seats, the airline must deny boarding to some.
- If the offloaded passenger is booked on an alternative flight that departs within an hour of the original flight’s scheduled departure, the airline need not pay compensation.
- Else, the airline must pay compensation that is equal to 200% of the booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, or Rs 10,000, whichever is lower.
For much delayed departure
- 400%of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge or Rs 20,000, whichever lower, should be compensation if the alternative flight departs more than 24 hours after the original flight’s time.
- If a passenger does not opt for alternate flight, full ticket refund and compensation equal to 400% of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge or Rs 20,000 should be paid.
The Akasa case – The 7 passengers should have been paid Rs 10,000 each.
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