Jeddah, March 21 (IANS) A court has ordered Saudi Arabian Airlines or Saudia to compenstate a passenger and his family with about $16,430 because their flight from Jeddah to New York was delayed by 21 hours.

The Court of Appeals in Riyadh upheld a ruling issued by the Administrative Court and said that the airline had also changed the seat numbers of the passengers on the return flight, the Saudi Gazette reported.

The court awarded the passenger compensation for psychological and financial harm he had sustained, in addition to legal expenses.

Mohamed Abdullah Al-Shidi, the passenger, expressed happiness over the court ruling, the daily said.

--IANS mr/