The Jammu and Kashmir district consumer commission on March 16, 2026 ordered an Indian carrier to pay Rs 1.19 lakh, including Rs 89,000 in compensation, to passengers for losing their checked-in bags. The consumer commission said this airline failed to properly handle and tag baggage and couldn't trace the lost items, resulting in poor service.
The complainants, who filed this case on April 15, 2025, had booked tickets with this Indian airline to travel from Srinagar to Dammam, Saudi Arabia via Delhi for religious purposes. They were a group of pilgrims travelling together.
The complainants argued that the PNR reflected not only the names of the complainants but also six other pilgrims who were travelling as a group. At Dammam airport, they claimed that airline staff clubbed the luggages of the entire group collectively, without verifying and checking the baggage of each individual, leading to mistagging and mishandling of the baggage. The passengers also said that the airport officials did not issue them the tags that are usually pasted on the back of the boarding passes. Instead, all tags were stacked together and handed over as a pile to their group-leader. The tags were stacked upon each other and inseparable.
The complainants argued that on arriving at Delhi Airport, they found one baggage missing, out of five, they only received four. When the passengers could not find their missing baggage, they filed a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) and also informed the airlines, which in turn generated a complaint. So, when they reached out to the airline, they were asked to send in photos similar to the luggage, which they did without any issues.
However, even after 14 days, the luggage could not be traced. Eventually on March 15, 2025, the airline denied their claim and said their liability does not cover delay in delivery of baggage. The complainants argued that the baggage contained approximately Rs 89,000 worth of valuables including sacred items bought from Saudi Arabia as well as costly clothes, which were lost due to negligence of the airline. This caused them a lot of stress and hassle, leading them to approach the consumer commission to address their grievances.
Consumer commission order
Peerzada Qousar Hussain, President and Nyla Yaseen, Member of the consumer commission passed their judgement in the passenger's favour on March 16, 2026. The consumer commission noted that despite providing PIR, the bag was not traced and the airline later notified the passenger about the baggage delay through email.
As per the provisions governing the Carriage by Air Act, 1972, the liability of loss of baggage in domestic travel is limited and generally calculated at the rate of Rs 350 per kg subject to a maximum of Rs 20,000 per passenger unless the higher value has been declared at the time of check-in. The liability of loss of, damage to, or delay of baggage is limited to 1,000 special drawing rights (SDR) per passenger. The complainants have restricted the claim to Rs 89,000 towards lost baggage and articles.
The consumer commission noted that the passengers (complainants) have not based their claim for compensation strictly in terms of the above provisions but have sought reasonable compensation for the loss of baggage and mental agony. Therefore, the consumer commission said considering the nature of articles ordinarily carried in personal luggage, the inconvenience caused to the complainants besides failure of the OPs to trace the baggage or compensate them adequately, the consumer commission found it just and proper to award a reasonable compensation.
The consumer commission ordered:
The airline to pay Rs 89,000 as compensation for the loss of the baggage.
The airline was further directed to pay Rs 20,000 for putting the passengers through mental agony, harassment and inconvenience.
The airline was also directed to pay Rs 10,000 as litigation fees.
The airline would have to comply with the order within 30 days from the date of order, failing which, the entire awarded amount shall carry interest at the rate of 10% from the date of order till its realisation.
