Ticketing blunder: Spicejet slapped with Rs 30,000 penalty over rerouting error; senior citizen compensated for ‘mental harassment’

A shopper fee in Mumbai has ordered finances airline SpiceJet to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 5,000 in direction of litigation prices to a senior citizen who suffered psychological agony and monetary loss after being issued an incorrect ticket throughout a rerouted journey in December 2020, reported information company PTI.The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mumbai (Suburban), in its June 17 order, held SpiceJet responsible of “deficient service and negligent behaviour” that induced “mental harassment” to the passenger, although the unique flight cancellation was on account of unhealthy climate and past the airline’s management.The complainant, a senior citizen from Ghatkopar, had booked round-trip tickets from Mumbai to Darbhanga. While the outbound journey was accomplished, the return flight was cancelled. SpiceJet organized alternate journey by way of Patna and Kolkata, however the ticket was issued incorrectly, inflicting a missed connection. Upon reaching Patna, the complainant was knowledgeable that his connecting flight from Kolkata to Mumbai was scheduled to depart earlier than his arrival in Kolkata.This led to him reserving one other flight at his personal expense and lacking an essential PhD on-line examination in Mumbai. He approached the patron panel looking for a refund of Rs 14,577, Rs 2 lakh for psychological agony, and Rs 25,000 in direction of litigation bills.While the fee acknowledged the airline’s efforts to reroute the journey and later reimburse the complainant, it dominated, “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 additionally famous that the complainant had a task within the error. “Had the complainant checked the ticket when it was issued, the mistake could have been rectified on the spot,” the panel said.Despite this, the fee concluded that the passenger deserved compensation for the ordeal and directed the airline to pay a complete of Rs 30,000.The ruling comes at a time when SpiceJet is recovering financially. The airline reported a standalone revenue after tax of Rs 324.87 crore within the March 2025 quarter, almost 3 times its revenue in the identical interval final yr. This marked its second consecutive worthwhile quarter and its first full-year revenue in seven years.