Air India Express denies boarding to woman & 3-year-old on confirmed flight; Court orders Rs 70,000 payout plus interest

A consumer commission in Thrissur, Kerala, has directed Air India Express to pay Rs 70,000 to a woman and her minor son after they were allegedly denied boarding on a confirmed Kochi-Abu Dhabi flight in February 2021. The airline has also been ordered to refund the original ticket amount of Rs 20,287, along with 9% annual interest. The Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Thrissur, passed the order on September 15, 2026, holding the airline guilty of deficiency in service. The complainants, Aswathy Radhakrishnan and her son Sriram Aju, had to purchase fresh tickets to Sharjah after being denied boarding on their scheduled flight to Abu Dhabi.

Apart from the refund, the commission directed the airline to pay Rs 40,000 as compensation for mental agony, inconvenience and hardship, and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses.

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Air India Express denied boarding on Kochi-Abu Dhabi flight: What happened?

According to the complaint, Aswathy Radhakrishnan had booked tickets for herself and her approximately three-year-old son to travel from Kochi to Abu Dhabi on February 11, 2021.

The journey was scheduled on Air India Express flight IX-1419, departing at 9 pm. The mother and child had paid Rs 20,287 for the tickets and claimed that they possessed valid passports, visas and other documents required to travel under the prevailing UAE guidelines.

However, the airline allegedly refused to allow them to board the confirmed flight.

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The passengers were subsequently asked to purchase fresh tickets for a Kochi-Sharjah journey on another Air India Express flight, IX-1411, scheduled to depart at 10 pm. They paid an additional Rs 29,510.34 for the alternative tickets.

Since their intended destination was Abu Dhabi, the mother and child had to travel onwards from Sharjah by road to reach the UAE capital.

Woman travels to Sharjah with 3-year-old child after Abu Dhabi flight denial

The complainants told the commission that the unexpected change in their travel plans caused considerable inconvenience and mental distress.

Instead of reaching Abu Dhabi directly, they had to travel to Sharjah and arrange additional transportation to their intended destination. The woman also had to manage the additional journey with her young child, who was around three years old at the time.

The complaint further stated that Air India Express neither provided a satisfactory explanation for denying boarding nor refunded the original Kochi-Abu Dhabi airfare of Rs 20,287.

The complainants subsequently issued a legal notice to the airline in August 2023, seeking a refund and compensation. They approached the consumer commission after the response failed to resolve the dispute.

They sought a refund of Rs 20,287, compensation of Rs 5 lakh for mental agony and hardship, and litigation expenses.

Consumer court finds Air India Express guilty of deficiency in service

The Thrissur consumer commission noted that the passengers had submitted their original Kochi-Abu Dhabi flight tickets, replacement Kochi-Sharjah tickets, passports, visas and relevant UAE travel guidelines as evidence.

The commission observed that the airline had received notice but failed to appear before it, submit its version, cross-examine the complainant or provide evidence explaining why the passengers were denied boarding.

It also noted that the airline had not established whether the denial was due to any legal travel restriction, failure to meet mandatory requirements or any other reason attributable to the passengers.

The order stated that the complainants had established, on the basis of the available evidence, that they held valid tickets for the Kochi-Abu Dhabi flight but were not permitted to undertake the journey.

The commission observed that the airline's failure to provide the contracted transportation service, followed by the collection of additional money for travel to a different destination, amounted to deficiency in service.

It also found that the airline had failed to establish that the original airfare had been refunded or adjusted against the replacement tickets.

Air India Express ordered to refund Rs 20,287 with 9% interest

While the complainants had sought Rs 5 lakh in compensation, the commission held that the entire amount was not justified by the evidence.

Considering the inconvenience caused, the additional journey, the presence of a young child and the airline's failure to refund the original airfare, it awarded Rs 40,000 as compensation.

The commission's final directions to Air India Express are:

• Rs 20,287: Refund of the original Kochi-Abu Dhabi airfare, with 9% annual interest from February 11, 2021, until payment.
• Rs 40,000: Compensation for deficiency in service, mental agony, inconvenience and hardship.
• Rs 10,000: Litigation expenses.

The airline has been given 45 days from the receipt of a copy of the order to comply with the directions.

The commission further stated that if the compensation and litigation expenses of Rs 50,000 are not paid within the stipulated period, the amount will attract 9% annual interest from September 15, 2026, until realisation.

The complaint was filed on October 10, 2023, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The commission pronounced its order on September 15, 2026.