NEW DELHI: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, recently held IndiGo Airlines liable for deficiency in service due to unhygienic and stained seats on a flight, directing a compensation of Rs 1.75 lakh.The bench, comprising president Poonam Chaudhry and members Bariq Ahmed and and Shekhar Chandra, observed on July 18 that dirty seating arrangements constituted a direct violation of consumer expectations and the airline’s contractual obligations.Holding the airline guilty of deficiency in service, the commission denied the refund plea as the complainant had travelled from Baku to Delhi. However, the commission granted the compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh for mental agony, physical pain and harassment of the complainant and Rs 25,000 as litigation expenses.Pinki, a resident of Chanakyapuri in Delhi, along with her husband and two other family members, booked air tickets through a travel agency on Dec 27, 2024, for Rs 48,739 from Baku to Delhi. On Jan 2, 2025, she boarded the IndiGo flight and found that the seats were dirty and unhygienic. When the issue was reported to an air hostess, she expressed her helplessness to provide clean seats. As an alternative, the air hostess offered the complainant an isolated seat in the 14th row. She also offered a sincere apology.On Jan 13, Pinki sent a legal notice to the airline. After not receiving any satisfactory response, she approached the district commission, praying for appropriate compensation.She submitted that the harassment and emotional distress throughout the duration of the flight caused her considerable mental anguish. She further alleged that the poor quality and detrimental service extended to the customers in the international sector amounted to misconduct and reflected the sub-standard nature of services.The airline submitted that the issue of the unhygienic seat was immediately resolved by the cabin crew and the complainant was accommodated in a different seat. The bench, however, observed that dirty seating arrangements constituted a direct violation of consumer expectations and the airline’s contractual obligations.The commission also said that as per the civil aviation requirements, any airline registered in India is required to provide a responsive and functional grievance redressal mechanism along with a dedicated helpline number, which are in line with the Consumer Protection Act 2019.