Marooned at Toronto airport over Rs 1800 dues

Frequent fliers are well aware that itrsquos heavy going with airlines when it comes to any excess baggage But 24yearold Vinish Vincent George claims in his particular case national carrier Air India has gone too far Falling short of 35 Canadian dollars towards payment for his extra baggage proved costly for the aspiring Indian pilot who is stranded at Pearson Airport Toronto since 1240 pm local time on April 29u00a0George who recently completed his pilot training course at Ontario was set to board Air Indiarsquos TorontoDelhi flight AI 188 on April 29 when the entire row started Heavy weather u00a0George said he was willing to give in writing that he would pay the rest of the amount once he reached India The victim whose two bags were designated as overweight says he was asked to repack from two bags to three as he reached the AI flight counter at the airport He scurried around and managed to do the needful However to his shock he was not allowed to board since the airline allegedly said his boarding time had elapsed Flying troubles Vinish Vincent George who has been at Pearson airport since April 29 with his two bags weighing 44kg and 45 kg complained that the Air India staff were rude and uncooperativeu00a0 Waiting in the wings George who is at Pearson Airport since April 29 says he has not eaten anything and is still hopeful that the airline will revert back to him Speaking exclusively to MiD DAY George said ldquoI booked my Air India flight TorontoDelhi for April 29 and was happy to have secured a seat on our national carrier From Delhi I was to catch another AI flight to Thiruvananthapuram As I was returning back after completion of my training carrying all my books and clothing I had some extra luggage and was fully aware of this situation I was ready to pay for the excess baggage at the Air India counter I arrived at the counter at 1240 pm for the 230 pm departure I provided my eticket to the checkin counter staff and was asked to put my baggage on the weighing machine My two bags of 44 and 45 kg were declared overweight and I was asked to shift some of the items in a third bag and pay for the extra luggage I agreedrdquo ldquoSince the bags were very heavy I asked the Air India representative on duty Sangeth Mohan to help me remove the baggage from weighing terminal For this he snapped at me and asked me to do it myself It took time for me to position the trolley and keep the luggage on it In the meantime I saw that the counter had closed and I was left there without further assistance help or advice I was shocked and bewildered with such rude unprofessional behaviour on part of Air Indiardquo he added No help ldquoI was still at this counter when the Air India representative returned and asked me rudely to remove the luggage immediately He even called the police who arrived there within minutes When a cop asked the AI staffer to provide some help to me Mohan claimed he was not dealing with me The police officer then helped me remove the baggage As pressure was mounting I called up the vicepresident of my flight school who advised me to leave one bag behind and board the flight I approached the checkin staff again who asked me to talk to Mohan I requested him for a seat on the flight on my confirmed booking but he refused Against my repeated requests Mohan called the cops again and in front of them declared me a noshow for the scheduled flightrdquo George claimed ldquoThe rude staffers of Air India deliberately delayed me to ensure that I was a noshow for the flight The total charge for the excess luggage was 555 Canadian dollars and I had 520 dollars Canadian with me at the time I also told them that I would pay the rest of the amount once I reach India and I was ready to give them a written undertaking They also wanted me to pay 1300 Canadian dollars as fare difference which I did not agree to as I was not at fault I approached all the counters of Air India at Toronto airport no one came to help I tried calling all the top aviation offices in India including DGCA and CMDrsquos office of Air India but could not reach anyone I have lodged a complaint with the airport police at Toronto They have promised to do the needfulrdquo he told MiD DAYu00a0 What officials say When contacted the ministry of external affairs MEA sympathised with the case of Vincent George but maintained that the matter does not fall under its jurisdiction ldquoIt is sad to hear this but such cases do not come under our jurisdiction Since this matter is related to the national carrier and the civil aviation ministry you will have to contact themrdquo said Vishnu Prakash spokesperson MEA DGM public relations Air India Praveen Bhatnagar said ldquoIt was the fault of the passenger and he did not cooperate with the authorities As a result he missed the flightrdquo When contacted Narinder Kumar a lady official with Air Indiarsquos office at Toronto airport said ldquoWe cannot say anything on the matter right now Only the concerned official Sangeth Mohan can speak about this and he is not on the shiftrdquo