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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court has summoned Vistara Airlines in response to a plea filed by the parents of a minor girl seeking damages of nearly Rs. 2.7 crore.

The parents alleged that their daughter suffered second-degree burns after a hot beverage was spilled on her by airline staff during a Vistara flight from Delhi to Frankfurt.

The bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani heard the matter on January 9, 2024 and ordered Vistara to file its response to the suit within a month.

The court also directed Vistara to reply to the interim relief application within two weeks and scheduled the next hearing for March 6, 2024.

In the suit, the girl's parents claim that their daughter sustained "grave second-degree burns on her thighs and adjoining areas" due to the negligence of an air hostess. The incident allegedly occurred on August 11, 2023, when the air hostess, in a hurry, spilled the hot chocolate ordered by the child along with another extremely hot beverage.

The parents are seeking damages for bodily injuries, medical expenses incurred in Frankfurt, Germany, and other consequential reliefs. They argued that Vistara, instead of taking responsibility for the incident, issued a statement on social media confirming the incident but falsely attributing blame to the child's "playful behavior."

The parents disputed Vistara's claim that the incident was due to the child's behavior, stating that it caused serious medical injuries and severe mental agony to the family. They have alleged that Vistara failed to provide an explanation for the crew's negligence, carelessness, and professional misconduct, violating DGCA norms regarding the temperature at which liquids are served on board a flight.

Furthermore, the parents contended that Vistara made no attempt to reach out or offer assistance to the family after the incident. The airline only contacted the family more than 30 hours after the child and her mother deboarded from the flight, after the incident was shared on social media.

The parents also claimed that they were left to navigate the medical system, arrange accommodation, and make necessary arrangements for their child's medical treatment in a foreign country without any assistance from Vistara.

"In fact, Vistara made no contact whatsoever with the family for more than 30 hours after the child and her mother deboarded from the flight. As a result, the child’s parents were constrained to navigate the medical system, arrange for accommodation and make all such other necessary arrangements for their child’s urgent medical treatment in a foreign country, all by themselves. The only time Vistara finally reached out to the family was after Mrs. Gupta was constrained to share details of the incident on her Twitter account, which finally drew the airline’s attention to the incident, but even thereafter, no material assistance or help was extended by the airline to the family while they were in Frankfurt," they said. 

Case Title: Tara Gupta and Ors. v. Tata Sia Airlines Ltd.