A consumer court in Kerala has ordered Air India to pay ₹1.36 lakh to a man left stranded overnight at Mumbai airport when a delayed flight caused him to miss his international connection. The ruling ends a legal case that ran for nearly nine years. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Thiruvananthapuram found in favor of the complainant, who said the airline gave no assistance after the disruption.
The man, aged 42 and working as a driver in Saudi Arabia, had visited family in Kerala during June 2017. On September 10 that year he was due to return via an Air India route starting with a domestic flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai and then an onward international leg. The first flight arrived more than two hours late, so he missed the connection. No suitable replacement was offered, forcing him to buy a same-day ticket on another carrier at a cost of nearly ₹49,000.
The sudden outlay created financial pressure for his family, who had to gather the funds quickly. They stated that repeated requests for help from Air India went unanswered. His wife filed the complaint after seeking legal counsel, naming the airline’s chairman, operations director and station managers at Thiruvananthapuram as respondents. The petition asked for repayment of losses plus damages for mental hardship.
The man recalled reaching Mumbai only to learn his Saudi flight had already left, leaving him without options or funds for a business-class seat the next day. He spent the day at the airport arranging another ticket through a Saudi travel agency. The family also covered the unused segment of the original booking, bringing total losses to about ₹83,000. He added that the airline supplied neither lodging nor meals, so he remained at the terminal overnight.
Air India denied any shortfall in service and told the commission the complaint had neither legal nor factual basis.
