Chandigarh, March 31 -- A Mohali-based couple who were forced to shell out over Rs.1 lakh after their domestic flight was preponed without prior intimation, triggering cancellation of their international booking to the US, have won relief from the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II Terming Air India guilty of deficiency in service, the commission has ordered the airline to refund Rs.1,00,350 to the couple, Ranjit Singh Samra and Ravinder Kaur Samra, along with Rs.10,000 as compensation for harassment and litigation expenses. According to the complaint, the couple had booked round-trip tickets from Chandigarh to San Francisco, California, via Delhi in 2019. However, the airline preponed their Chandigarh-Delhi flight on February 18, 2020, from 12.45 pm to 7 am, making it difficult for them to board. The complainants said they instead reached the Delhi airport directly to catch their onward flight to San Francisco later that evening. They were, however, informed by airline officials that their entire booking had been cancelled due to their absence on the domestic sector and were asked to pay Rs.1,00,350 to reconfirm their seats. Left with no option, they paid the amount to board the flight to San Francisco and later approached the commission, alleging unfair charges. Air India, in its written response, stated that the complainants had booked two separate flights, and the flight from Chandigarh to Delhi was preponed due to technical and operational reasons, and that the change was duly communicated to all passengers. "The Air India flights are operated only after all necessary technical and operational checks are completed and after clearance from the departments concerned responsible for safe take-off and landing. The safety of passengers is the foremost priority of Air India and no risk is ever taken merely to maintain scheduled timings," it added. The airline further contended that because the complainants could not board the flight that took off from Chandigarh to Delhi, the complainants were marked as "no show", leading to automatic cancellation of the onward international leg as per system rules. The complainants had to purchase the ticket again to travel on the international flight and the opposite party cannot be held responsible for it. The commission, however, found that the airline failed to place on record any proof that the revised schedule had been properly communicated in advance. It further observed that the two flights were not connecting sectors and that cancelling the Delhi-San Francisco leg solely due to non-boarding of the domestic flight appeared arbitrary. Holding the additional charge to be unjustified in the absence of any supportingcontractual clause, the commission ruled that the airline'sconduct amounted to deficiency in service and directed it to refund the amount along with compensation....