A tripod worth ₹ 55 thousand broke, the airline paid only ₹ 5 thousand! Filmmaker’s video went viral, people raised questions

Airline Compensation: The case of a freelance filmmaker’s expensive camera tripod allegedly getting damaged while traveling from Goa to Mumbai has become a topic of discussion on social media. Filmmaker Sameer Punjabi shared a video on Instagram and claimed that while traveling by Air India Express flight on July 20, his rented tripod worth about ₹ 55 thousand broke.

According to Sameer, at the time of check-in, he had already told the ground staff that the equipment was extremely fragile, had been damaged before and was taken on rent. He had also requested the staff to handle it carefully, but upon reaching Mumbai his tripod was found completely broken.

 

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A post shared by Sameer Punjabi (@sameerpunjabiiii)

tripod worth ₹ 55 thousand broken, airline gave only ₹ 5 thousand

Sameer told that after receiving the luggage, he immediately lodged a complaint at the customer service desk of the airline. He alleges that he was made to wait for about three hours and during this time he did not get satisfactory assistance. Later, an airline employee told him that as per company policy, a compensation of ₹5,000 could be given for the loss.

Sameer said in the video that this tripod was not his but was on rent, hence he would have to make full payment to its owner. He also claimed that he has a video in which the goods can be seen being thrown while loading. He says that when he showed this video to the customer service, he was told that this is how the goods are loaded.

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Airline assures further assistance

After the video went viral, Air India Express responded on Instagram and apologized to Sameer and asked for his PNR number and assured to investigate the matter. However, social media users also reacted sharply on this matter. One user wrote, “Accountability is visible only after the online post goes viral.”

Another advised “Do not accept compensation of ₹5 thousand.” Another user wrote that “This is a matter of concern for people traveling with expensive camera equipment.” At present, Air India airline has publicly assured review of the matter and further assistance.