LAHORE: A consumer count on Saturday summoned Qatar Airways for reconciliation with an aggrieved handicap person who along with his wife and two minors had been allowed traveling towards Ecuador without visas by the airlines.
The court while fixing the December 15, summoned Qatar Airline through its manager, during the hearing of an application filed by Imran Ali, his wife Humaira Ali and minors Shayan Ali and Shaheera Ali.
In the application filed though Nasir Mahmud advocate, it has been stated that Imran Ali who is a handicapped person as his one lower limb is artificial, planned to spend vacations in Quito, city of Ecuador and preferred to journey through Qatar Airways in this regard.
After the settlement of package between parties, applicant purchased 4 return tickets of Qatar Airline through a travel agent. They were given the schedule of traveling as from Lahore to Doha, Sao Paulo, Lima and Quito and then return from Quit to Lima, Sao Paulo, Doha and Lahore.
On September 7 as per schedule the applicants reached Lahore airport to board flight # QR333 for their journey towards Ecuador, and at the airport the applicants went through the process of scrutiny, checking of documents by the respondent airline. After completion of all formalities boarding cards were issued up till Sao Paulo (Brazil).
The flight landed at Qatar Airport on same day and again Qatar Airline staff posted at the airport carried out their checking of documents and after exercise of due care and having found the applicants eligible for travel to Ecuador, allowed them to board flight # QR921 to Sao Paulo (Brazil).
At that time no objection whatsoever was raised by the Qatar Airline while allowing the complainants to board the flight # QR921. The plane landed at Sao Paulo Airport (Brazil) and the applicants in order to continue the journey moved towards the connecting airline Trans American Continental Airline (TACA)for boarding to
Lima & Ecuador but they were not allowed boarding by the staff of the TACA on flight # TA 29 for Lima on the strength of a notification issued by the Government of Ecuador whereby by means of ministerial Agreement the department of Foreign Affairs Ecuador with effect from September 3, 2010 established the equator for the citizens of few countries including Pakistan and therefore, applicants could not be allowed to board the flight # TA29 without visa.
Applicants insisted upon the staff of TACA having valid tickets but they categorically pointed out that Qatar Airlines was under the legal obligation to fulfill all legal obligations of checking documents and update itself of developments before issuing boarding passes.
Applicants lodged their protest on the unjust stoppage of further travel to their final destination but the staff of Qatar Airways at the Sao Paulo Air port kept the applicants in detention room for almost 10 hours. After that, Qatar Airline staff forcibly boarded them on a flight to Qatar, when the flight landed at Doha Airport applicants, were again detained and all their all documents were taken away from them.
Finally, after almost 22 hours ordeal and suffering at Qatar Airport applicants were boarded on plane for Lahore. At Lahore airport staff of Qatar airline headed by the Station Manager (Nadir Ali) handed applicants passports and tickets to the F.I.A. alleging that applicants were going to Ecuador without visa.
Imran Ali in his application had requested the court to pass an order against Qatar Airline for paying 873,000 rupees as refund of tickets and rupees one million each to the applicants as damages for the humiliation, pain, mental agony, psychological injury and embarrassment along with expenses of $3250 incurred by the complainants arising from deficient service and negligence.
Earlier, Qatar Airlines, while replying the application denied the facts stated in application by saying that it is responsibility of a passenger to complete all the documents specially visa for the destination country. There is no liability on any airline in this regard.
