Senior Citizen Passenger Kept In Airport Shuttle Without Food Or Water; Alliance Air Held Liable

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, South Delhi, comprising Monika A. Srivastava (President) and Kiran Kaushal (Member), has held Alliance Air Aviation Limited liable for deficiency in service and directed it to pay ₹1 lakh to a senior citizen passenger who was made to wait for over two hours in an airport shuttle bus without basic amenities and was not provided pre-booked meals.

Brief Facts

The complainant, Smt. Shashi Singhai, booked an economy class ticket with meals from New Delhi to Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, for December 18, 2021. The scheduled departure time was 09:50 AM. Due to a technical fault, the flight was delayed and a fresh boarding pass was issued reflecting a revised departure time of 11:15 AM.

After passengers had boarded the aircraft, an announcement was made regarding a tech-nical fault, and passengers were de-boarded and made to wait in a carrier bus/airport shut-tle for more than two hours without arrangements for drinking water or access to public facilities. The complainant, a senior citizen and diabetic, faced considerable difficulty dur-ing this period.

The flight eventually departed around 1:30 PM from Delhi. It was scheduled via Allaha-bad, but passengers were later informed that the flight would proceed to Raipur instead of Bilaspur. Although the complainant had pre-booked meals, neither food nor refreshments were served during the journey. Water was provided only upon request.

The flight landed at Raipur around 6:00 PM. The complainant received no assistance from the airline and hired a taxi to Bilaspur at a cost of ₹1,700, after having remained without food for the entire day.

Aggrieved, she approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, South Delhi, seeking ₹5 lakh as compensation for deficiency in service, ₹2 lakh for harassment and mental agony, and ₹50,000 towards litigation costs.

Arguments of the Opposite Party

Initially, Air India Ltd. was impleaded as a party. However, upon submissions that the flight was operated by Alliance Air, which functions as a separate public sector entity, the Commission al-lowed deletion of Air India and impleaded Alliance Air Aviation Limited as the opposite party.

Alliance Air contended that:

• The delay was due to engineering constraints beyond its control.

• The diversion to Raipur was necessitated by bad weather at Bilaspur.

• The shuttle bus was not owned or directly controlled by the airline.

• Under its General Terms and Conditions and DGCA CAR “M”, it was not liable for delays or di-versions arising out of extraordinary circumstances.

Observations & Decision Of The Commission

The Commission observed that the airline did not deny that passengers were made to wait in the shuttle for more than two hours.

It held that even if there was engineering trouble in the aircraft, passengers could have been accommodated inside the airport and provided access to basic amenities such as washrooms and refreshments. Instead, they were held “captive in the shuttle” without re-freshment or access to public facilities.

The Commission further noted that the airline had not placed on record any document to substantiate its claim that the flight was diverted due to bad weather at Bilaspur. It also ob-served that there was no denial regarding the failure to provide the complainant's pre-booked meal.

Finding the airline highly deficient in providing services — particularly to a senior citizen who remained without food for the entire day — the Commission allowed the complaint.

Alliance Air Aviation Limited was directed to pay ₹1 lakh to the complainant within three months from the date of the order, failing which the amount will carry interest at 5% per annum until realisation.

Case Details

Case Title: Smt. Shashi Singhai vs Alliance Air Aviation Limited

Complaint No.: DC/83/CC/144/2022

Date of Order: December 23, 2025

Click Here To Read/Download Order