Air India offloads US citizen despite confirmed ticket

BITTER TASTE OF INDIA: Denise was not just offloaded, but also made to pay a penalty.

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Gurgaon: Denise Chaudhary and her daughter have been up for the last 48 hours trying to get on a flight to New York, but they are back in their Gurgaon flat.

Denise had accompanied her husband, Minnesota State Senator Satveer Chaudhary to India on a visit and was booked to go back to New York early Sunday morning. However, Air India allegedly refused to let the two on board the plane, saying that the flight was full.

"They said there had been overbooking and that there were no arrangements for us," says a visibly harassed Denise.

Denise was allegedly asked to re-book on another flight. When she tried to do just that, she claimed she was told by the airline officials that she and her daughter were no-show cases — meaning they never showed up at the airline counter — and was asked to pay a penalty.

She was allegedly subjected to the airport staff's rude and objectionable behaviour.

"They just wanted the money in my wallet. Rs 500 each. They came very close to me, very suggestively and I didn't like it at all. I wanted to leave immediately for I was feeling very harassed and extremely threatened," says Denise.

A scrap of handwritten paper was what Air India had allegedly passed off as an e-ticket and issued to Denise at the airport.

Air India, meanwhile, clarifies that overbooking is routine in all sectors and off-loaded passengers who don't enlist their names are generally considered no-shows.

However, Denise begs to differ. "I love India but am afraid there are travellers and visitors who would choose not to do business or visit here because of instances like this," says she.

With Delhi all set to host the Commonwealth Games in just about three years, a lot of money and energy is being spent on revamping and upgrading the international airport. However, incidents like these highlight how much more needs to be done.