A Bengaluru-based techie Naveenraj Rajan was denied a refund of Rs89,000 after his connecting flight was cancelled due to a plane crash causing runway closure at the airport. Rajan was set to fly to Canada. The Bengaluru man arrived at Kempegowda International Airport to catch a Vistara flight to Mumbai September 14. He later took a connecting Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) flight to Zurich. However, he was later told by the airline officials that the flight was delayed, which eventually got cancelled.
The man was further informed that the next flight to Mumbai was at 1am. Rajan had to come to Delhi to visit his family.
As per reports, Rajan said, “They told me that a private jet had crashed at Mumbai airport and the runway was closed.” He further added, “The staff informed me that the possibility of a Vistara flight taking off from Bengaluru to Mumbai was at 1am September 15 and I expressed concern as my SWISS airline’s connecting flight from Mumbai to Zurich was scheduled for 12:55 am”.
Rajan also faced issues getting an alternate Vistara flight for Mumbai. The airline staff at the airport had handed a certificate that read “kindly process full refund due to flight delay runway restrictions (sic)”.
Rajan said, “Realising there was no way I could make it to Mumbai to catch my connecting flight, I trusted Vistara staff’s words as they were the codesharing partners of SWISS and went home hoping my ticket refund of Rs89,000 will come.”
Rajan apparently tried to contact GoIbibo officials for a refund. But, the official said that he had ‘failed to report to his destination’ so, he was not eligible for the refund.
PNN & Agencies