In a significant ruling, a consumer forum has directed Gulf Air to pay ₹1 lakh as compensation to Nizamudeen, a former MLA and practising advocate of the Madras High Court, for poor airline service, after he was denied boarding at Moscow Airport last year due to a “single-name” passport issue.
According to the complaint, on February 9, 2023, Nizamudeen had a confirmed booking with Gulf Air for his journey from Moscow to Dubai via Bahrain. However, when he arrived at the Moscow airport, the staff refused to issue him a boarding pass, saying that his passport contained only a single name — Nizamudeen — which was not acceptable under UAE immigration rules.
The staff allegedly informed him that passengers with single-word names were considered “INAD” (inadmissible passengers) as per a UAE government advisory issued in November 2022, which mandated that all passports must include both a first name and a surname. Despite his repeated pleas and the presentation of a valid UAE visa issued in the same name, he was not permitted to board.
Nizamudeen was forced to book a flight from a different airline, using the same passport and visa, and was allowed to travel to Sharjah without any issue. The delay, he said, caused severe inconvenience and financial loss as he had missed a meeting scheduled for February 10, 2023, in Dubai.
In its written defence, Gulf Air maintained that it had acted in compliance with the UAE government’s Ground Operations Notice dated November 30, 2022, which warned the airlines not to allow passengers having single-word names, even if they held valid visas.
However, the forum said that other airlines, including Air India, had subsequently issued amended guidelines allowing passengers with single-word names to travel to the UAE if they possessed valid visas. It also observed that Gulf Air had issued the ticket in the same name, and should not have done so if such travel was restricted.
Finding the airline guilty of a deficiency in service, the District Consumer Redressal Forum (North), headed by D. Gopinath, directed Gulf Air to refund ₹29,689 — the cost of the ticket — along with 9% annual interest from February 9, 2023, until realisation. The airline was also ordered to pay ₹1 lakh as compensation for mental agony and monetary loss, and ₹10,000 towards litigation costs.
The forum further instructed that the total amount of ₹1.10 lakh be paid within two months from the date of receipt of the order, failing which it would attract 9% annual interest until full payment.
Published – October 24, 2025 11:41 pm IST
