Kashmir Wire
Srinagar
The private airlines at the Srinagar international airport appear to be taking the customers –both locals and tourists – to ride and made them pay through nose on flimsy grounds with no accountability.
This is evident from the complaints of the customers who had prior bookings and were denied boarding cards to travel to the destinations from Srinagar airport.
“This type of attitude from the airlines not only causes mental agony to the passengers but causes great inconvenience besides monetary loss. This is unbecoming and least expected from the airlines when the government is doing its best to woo tourists to Kashmir”, a cross-section of the travellers told Kashmir Wire.
Narrating his tale of woo, One of the complainants, Mohammad Amin Khan, a member of the J and K Sports Council, said he had booked his seat in the Spicejet. His departure was at 11.50 AM this morning for Jammu through flight No SJ161 of spice jet. He said he reached at the counter of the particular airlines at 10.50 AM to obtain Boarding card. However, he was surprised when the employee of the SpiceJet manning the counter told him that his name is not included in the passenger’s confirmation list.
When Khan presented the confirmation and PNR NO:8R85Z to him. He declined to accept it.
Khan approached the Manager of the said airlines and he readily agreed that Khan has confirmed ticket. The concerned employee was called and told that Khan has confirmed ticket, the employee gave a flimsy reason that Khan had come late so he was not allowed to board the flight.
Khan was surprised on hearing the argument forwarded by the employee. Khan said he had reached the counter of the said airlines well before time. The counter was open and the employee had told him that his name was not in the confirmation list.
To this utter confusion, Khan approached the Director Airport authority and the employee repeated the same story. The poor Director could not do anything except advising the passenger to book a fresh ticket.
Khan said he had no option but to book a fresh ticket for Rs.7,500. The airlines told Khan that his earlier ticket is non-refundable.
Similar was the case with a tourist Chandan Bhattacharji who was to fly to Delhi through Goair flight at 2.55 PM. He was denied boarding card on the plea that fog had enveloped Delhi airport. He visited the airport for three days, Friday to Sunday and the flights were cancelled due to foggy weather in Delhi.
When he had lost patience, he booked a seat for Rs.14,000 the same day and left at 4 PM.
Another glaring example of fleecing customers was narrated by Aijaz Ahmad Sofi, who had booked a return ticket for his family from Srinagar to Chandigarh and back through Spicejet airlines. He, his wife and two children were allowed to go from Srinagar airport on November 22 on the ticket. However, on return on November 27, he was asked to book a seat for his less than two-year-old son afresh.
Finding himself in a difficult situation, Sofi had no option but to book the ticket for Rs.3000 for his child.
Sofi is contemplating to lodge a complaint with the consumer court, he told Kashmir wire. (Kashmir Wire)