Passenger denied boarding over name mismatch; travel firm, airline told to pay ₹78,920

A Bengaluru consumer commission has directed an online travel company and an airline to jointly pay ₹78,920 to a passenger who was denied boarding at Newark Airport while returning to Delhi. The passenger, an elderly wheelchair user with medical needs, was reportedly stopped from boarding after airline staff detected a mismatch between his reservation details and their internal records.

His family had to purchase a replacement ticket at the airport counter for ₹71,241 to ensure that he could return home.

The consumer commission observed that the failure of the opposite parties to provide the promised refund amounted to deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.

“…while the same ticket, same PNR, same passenger’s, with just a date change cleared immigration and went to the US on 8/6/2024 from Delhi with the same ticket, one of them was denied boarding in the return because of an internal error in the opposite party no 2 (airline) counter’s guest list that clearly a wrong name entry. Thereby, the act of the opposite party amounts to clear deficiency in service,” the order read.

Passenger denied boarding over name mismatch

According to the complaint, the passenger’s daughter had booked round-trip tickets through an online travel portal for her parents to travel between Delhi and Newark.