A consumer court in Kerala imposed a fine of ₹7.5 lakh on Qatar Airways in a 5-year-old complaint filed by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas of the Kerala High Court.
The court ruled that offloading the judge and his friends from the aircraft, despite having valid tickets, constituted an unfair trade practice and deficiency in service. The airline acknowledged the incident, issued an apology, and provided accommodation and meal vouchers.
However, the court found it unfair for the airline to question the complainant’s credibility and integrity. Consequently, the court imposed a fine of ₹7.5 lakh on the airline to be paid within 30 days.
In 2018, Justice Thomas, then a Senior Advocate, and his friends planned to travel to Scotland for a trek.
They booked flights with Qatar Airways, but upon attempting to board their flight from Doha to Edinburgh, they were offloaded due to alleged overbooking. The airline accommodated them in a hotel and provided a flight for the next day, disrupting their trek schedule.
Justice Thomas filed a complaint seeking ₹10 lakh in compensation, and after years of delays, the consumer court ruled in favor of the complainant, awarding ₹7,00,000 as compensation for mental anguish and hardship, along with ₹50,000 as the cost of proceedings.
