British Airways left PhD scholar stranded at London airport; ordered to pay Rs 1.66L

NEW DELHI: A consumer commission in Bengaluru has held British Airways guilty of deficiency in service after it refused to issue a boarding pass to a passenger travelling from London to Bengaluru, leaving her stranded at Heathrow Airport after an earlier flight cancellation and rerouting.The Bengaluru I Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the airline to refund the original booking amount of Rs 1,38,945, pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 towards litigation costs, in its order dated October 8, 2026.British Airways boarding pass refusal disputeAccording to the commission order, the complainant, Bhadrapriya Sivakumar, was pursuing a PhD in neurobiology at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Her father, Sivakumar N, filed the complaint on her behalf as her general power of attorney holder.The complainant had booked a round-trip international ticket through EaseMyTrip on January 17, 2024, for Rs 1,38,945.