NEW DELHI: A passenger’s complaint that his family, including an 11-month-old baby, was not served adequate food on a 15-hour flight has led the Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to hold Singapore Airlines liable for deficiency in service, according to a report by Bar and Bench.The commission ruled that an airline cannot escape responsibility for providing regular meals simply because passengers have not asked for special food.It also pointed out that Singapore Airlines had failed to establish that the family was served adequate food during the journey.The dispute dates back to March 4, 2020, when Jaspreet Singh‘s wife, mother-in-law and infant daughter flew from Delhi to Melbourne.Singh alleged that the family was not provided proper meals during the journey and that even milk for his 11-month-old daughter was not made available.After Singh raised the issue through an email, the airline initially promised to look into the complaint. However, its subsequent response was that the passengers had not placed a request for vegetarian or special meals. It also asked Singh to take up the matter with his travel agent.Unhappy with the response, Singh approached the district consumer commission in Ropar. He sought a refund of ₹1.25 lakh towards the tickets and ₹10 lakh in compensation.In January 2023, the district commission ordered Singapore Airlines and the travel agent to refund the ticket fare with 7% annual interest. It also awarded ₹25,000 as compensation and ₹11,000 towards litigation expenses.The airline challenged the decision before the state commission, maintaining that no special meal request had been made and that food from its regular menu had been served.The state commission rejected this argument, holding that passengers need not request special meals to be entitled to ordinary food on a long-duration flight. It further observed that the airline had not furnished sufficient evidence to show that the family had received adequate meals.However, the commission took into account that the passengers had completed their journey and said a full ticket refund would be disproportionate.In an order dated October 7, it reduced the relief and directed Singapore Airlines to pay Rs 50,000 as consolidated compensation for mental agony and harassment, besides litigation expenses.The amount is to be paid to Singh within 45 days, Bar and Bench reported.
