The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Ludhiana, has held a travel agency and an airline guilty of deficiency in service and directed them to refund Rs 45,656 along with interest and litigation costs of Rs 10,000 to a Ludhiana resident, whose son missed a connecting international flight after a domestic flight was delayed.The order was passed by the Commission comprising President Sanjeev Batra and Member Monika Bhagat while deciding a complaint filed by Rajiv Modgill and his son Ishaan Modgill of Basant Avenue, Dugri, Ludhiana.According to the complainant, he had booked an international air ticket for his son, a student pursuing a technical course in Australia, through E-Dream Travel Private Limited of Vistara Airlines for travel from Amritsar to Adelaide via Delhi, Mumbai and Vietnam. The ticket was booked for Rs 40,352 and the journey was scheduled to commence on March 2, 2024.The complainants alleged that the flight from Amritsar to Delhi departed about two hours late, resulting in Ishaan reaching Delhi after the connecting flight to Mumbai had already departed. Though another flight to Mumbai was arranged, he could not catch the subsequent international flight from Mumbai to Vietnam and the onward flight to Australia.To ensure that his son reached Australia in time to attend classes, Modgill purchased a fresh ticket through Singapore Airlines for Rs 73,083. Ishaan ultimately reached Adelaide on March 4, 2024, and attended his classes shortly thereafter.The complainants further contended that despite assurances from the travel portal to reimburse the entire amount spent on the new ticket, only Rs 27,426 was refunded. Repeated requests through emails and telephone calls allegedly failed to yield any further relief, prompting the filing of the consumer complaint.Both opposite parties failed to appear before the Commission despite service and were proceeded against ex parte. After examining the unrebutted evidence placed on record, the Commission concluded that the complainant had successfully established a deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the travel portal and airline.Observing that the complainants had incurred additional expenditure due to the disruption of the travel itinerary, the Commission directed the opposite parties to refund Rs 45,656.12, being the balance amount spent on the fresh ticket after adjusting the partial refund already received.The Commission also awarded interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum from March 3, 2024, till actual payment and granted composite litigation costs of Rs 10,000. The amount is to be paid within 30 days.