WP Governor sues airline
Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana has filed action in the
District Court of Colombo against Emirates Airlines, claiming damages (Rs
100 m) for a flight delay in Dubai, when on his way to Mecca to perform
Umrah.
The plaint states that Mowlana had booked a ticket last year to fly
to the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform 'Umrah," and that
he was given a boarding pass at the Colombo Airport to travel from
Colombo to Dubai on October 9, 2007 and from Dubai to Jeddah on the same
day.
However, at the Dubai Airport, he had been refused permission to
board the second flight from Dubai to Jeddah, although he held a
boarding pass. The plaint noted this act of Emirates Airlines was
wrongful, unlawful, illegal and a breach of the contract of carriage.
Emirates had accommodated him on another flight on the next day (October
10, 2007) to travel to Jeddah - a flight which arrived in Jeddah only on
October 11.
He said that, as the head of the family, he could not perform the 'Umrah"
pilgrimage as expected, and that all his family members had been kept
waiting.
As a result the plaintiff said, he suffered loss and damage and was
subjected to great stress, tension, anxiety and, in view of the long
wait, his health was jeopardized as he was a cardiac patient. Mowlana's
daughter, who had also been placed in a similar situation, has also sued
Emirates Airlines for a sum of Rs. 50 million.
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