A consumer commission in Visakhapatnam has directed a travel booking website and an airline to pay Rs 1.95 lakh to a passenger after finding them guilty of changing his international flight itinerary without obtaining his consent, ultimately leaving him unable to undertake the planned trip. The Visakhapatnam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered the two companies to refund Rs 1.55 lakh to the passenger, pay Rs 30,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses.The complaint concerned a round-trip booking made by the passenger and his friend through the travel website. As per the original itinerary, they were scheduled to leave Delhi for New York on September 4, 2024, travel onwards to Miami and then Quito, before returning to Miami and New York. Their return journey to Delhi was scheduled for September 11, 2024.However, the passenger alleged that the flight timings were subsequently altered without his approval. He contacted the booking platform and told it that the revised schedule would not serve the purpose of his trip. He then sought cancellation of the tickets and a full refund, arguing that he had neither requested nor agreed to the changes. According to the complaint, the website continued sending him messages suggesting that the itinerary changes had been initiated at his request, despite the alterations being made by the airlines. His refund request was eventually rejected, although he had opted for a zero-cancellation policy.Defending itself, the travel website told the commission that the airline had made schedule changes after the tickets were confirmed. These changes were beyond its control and included the cancellation of the Miami-Quito flight. The website’s counsel claimed that the passenger subsequently contacted the platform to explore alternative arrangements and that a revised itinerary was prepared at his request. When he later sought a refund, the airline refused it under its applicable policy.The counsel further argued that the zero-cancellation policy purchased by the passenger did not cover situations in which an airline rescheduled a flight from its originally scheduled time. The airline, meanwhile, argued that the changes had been communicated well before the scheduled journey and had not materially affected the passenger’s travel plans. It alleged that the booking website had independently cancelled the original reservation and issued an entirely new itinerary.The airline also told the commission that it did not directly handle cancellations or refunds for bookings made through third-party agents. It said it had transferred Rs 14,545 to the travel website and that the responsibility for passing on the amount to the passenger rested with the platform. It further argued that the passenger and his friend had failed to check in for the first flight and were consequently marked as no-shows. According to the airline, standard international airline practice requires all subsequent sectors of an itinerary to be cancelled if a passenger does not board the first flight.The commission, however, found fault with the manner in which the original booking had been altered. It noted that the travel website had not responded to the passenger’s specific allegation that his consent had never been obtained before changing the itinerary. The commission observed that the platform’s silence on this issue indicated its acceptance of the allegation.The commission also took note of the website’s admission that a new itinerary had been implemented despite the absence of the passenger’s consent.It observed that the companies had unilaterally altered the travel plan without securing the passenger’s approval. An intermediary acting prudently should not have initiated an alternative itinerary without obtaining written consent from the consumer, it said. Holding both the travel website and the airline liable for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices, the commission directed them to refund Rs 1.55 lakh to the passenger, pay Rs 30,000 in compensation and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.