Lost bag contained gold jewelry, expensive clothes; orders SpiceJet to pay Rs 2 lakh compensation

NEW DELHI: SpiceJet Airlines has been directed to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to a passenger who lost his checked-in bag. The Delhi State Consumer Commission has issued the order to SpiceJet. The incident happened on May 2, 2013. The bag lost contained the passenger’s wife's gold jewelry, expensive clothes and belongings. The airline was ready to pay Rs 200 per kg up to Rs 3000 as compensation.

However, the passenger filed a complaint with the consumer commission. The complainant had gone to Nepal to spend holidays with his wife and children. He lost his bag while returning to Delhi. There were two bags weighing 23 kg. The bags were subjected to checking at Kathmandu airport.

However, one of the bags went missing when they reached Delhi airport. The complainant then informed an employee of SpiceJet. An investigation was conducted but the bag could not be found. The airline then offered to pay up to Rs 3,000 as compensation. The complainant rejected this and informed the airline management. The passenger then complained to the consumer commission.

Meantime, SpiceJet's lawyers told Delhi state consumer commission that the passengers are well aware about the terms and conditions mentioned in the e-ticket which says no valuables and medications should be carried in check-in baggage. The lawyer also informed that the complainant had violated this provision. However, the district and state consumer commissions rejected SpiceJet's argument.