Kenya Airways (KQ) will refund a passenger Ksh.415,263 for a logistical error that saw him miss a flight from Kigali to London en route Nairobi on Feb. 23, 2018.
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), in a winding investigation concluded that KQ erred by overselling tickets on the flight, leading to none- admission of the passenger identified only as “Mr. Christopher”.
Mr Christopher travelled by RwandAir to Nairobi, and paid for another KQ trip to London. KQ declined to refund him for flight, in spite of an advisory that he should apply for the same.
While the national carrier said in its defense that the traveler missed his flight due to lateness (a valid reason for losing the ticket money), Mr. Christopher, through witnesses, proved that the buck stopped with KQ for over booking the flight.
CAK said KQ violated the provisions of the Competition Act to deny Mr Christopher boarding rights, and declining to refund him. The Authority also took issue with the airliner for providing conflicting information regarding the matter.
KQ was ordered to pay Mr Christopher within 60 days of the filing of the claim.
