Ticketing blunder: Spicejet slapped with Rs 30,000 penalty over rerouting error; senior citizen compensated for ‘mental harassment'
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A consumer commission in Mumbai has ordered budget airline SpiceJet to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs to a senior citizen who suffered mental agony and financial loss after being issued an incorrect ticket during a rerouted journey in December 2020, reported news agency PTI.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mumbai (Suburban), in its June 17 order, held SpiceJet guilty of 'deficient service and negligent behaviour' that caused 'mental harassment' to the passenger, even though the original flight cancellation was due to bad weather and beyond the airline's control.
The complainant, a senior citizen from Ghatkopar, had booked round-trip tickets from Mumbai to Darbhanga.
While the outbound journey was completed, the return flight was cancelled.
SpiceJet arranged alternate travel via Patna and Kolkata, but the ticket was issued incorrectly, causing a missed connection. Upon reaching Patna, the complainant was informed that his connecting flight from Kolkata to Mumbai was scheduled to depart before his arrival in Kolkata.
This led to him booking another flight at his own expense and missing an important PhD online examination in Mumbai.
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He approached the consumer panel seeking a refund of Rs 14,577, Rs 2 lakh for mental agony, and Rs 25,000 towards litigation expenses.
While the commission acknowledged the airline's efforts to reroute the journey and later reimburse the complainant, it ruled, 'The opposite party is guilty of deficient service and negligent behaviour by issuing an incorrect ticket, which threw the complainant in an unwarranted mental harassment.'
It also noted that the complainant had a role in the error. 'Had the complainant checked the ticket when it was issued, the mistake could have been rectified on the spot,' the panel stated.
Despite this, the commission concluded that the passenger deserved compensation for the ordeal and directed the airline to pay a total of Rs 30,000.
The ruling comes at a time when SpiceJet is recovering financially. The airline reported a standalone profit after tax of Rs 324.87 crore in the March 2025 quarter, nearly three times its profit in the same period last year.
This marked its second consecutive profitable quarter and its first full-year profit in seven years.
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