Spice Jet Airlines — spicejet-harassment and charging for hand baggage using unfair practice

Address:

319,Udyog Vihar,Phase IV,Gurgaon - 122016, India, Gurgaon, Haryana, 122016

Spicejet/flt sg-14/dubai-mumbai/31 january, 2019 -

I was harassed and charged for 1 kg extra hand baggage (Aed 60/-, about rs.1200/-) under duress using unfair practice just before boarding the aircraft at dubai. Hand baggage was checked just before boarding the aircraft and not at the time of check-in and hence no opportunity was given to reduce the hand baggage and normal practice of airlines to check hand baggage was violated. Check-in baggage allowance was 30 kg and i had only 23 kg check-in baggage. If hand baggage would have been checked at the time of check-in, i could have transferred part of the hand baggage to check-in baggage. Laptop was included in the hand baggage which is generally not included in the hand baggage. No opportunity was provided to check-in extra hand baggage before boarding. Offer of help by a fellow passanger with negligible hand baggage to share part of my hand baggage to reduce the weight of my hand baggage was also not allowed by the airline staff. Other passangers with 2 or more hand baggages weighing more than 7 kg were not charged for hand baggage thereby discriminating between passangers. Airline staff was using their whims and fancies to charge for hand baggage without following any standard policy. Different policy was followed by the same airline during the flight to dubai from mumbai on 16 january, 2019 as same hand baggage which also included laptop was allowed without any additional charge even after checking hand baggage at the time of check-in. Weighing machine used was without calibration certificate and showing more weight than the actual weight.

Complaint was registered with airsewa/ministry of civil aviation which was closed in less than one hour without any investigation/redressal of grievance after getting evasive reply from the airline. Complaint was made to dgca also by email which was not acknowledged/answered.