In the last few years, the completes from airline passengers have gone up with responsues Most of the time, the passengers find themselves with no help and bad attitude from airlines staff and the company itself.
Last month, I was traveling from ahmedabad to pune and my flight was scheduled to leave at 10:30 PM in night. However, the flight was delayed. First, It Showed 30 Min Delay, and Soon It Stretched to 2.5 hours.
I Along with many other passengers had no information about the delay. I also heard a passenger murmuring – “Will they provide us snacks?” after a 2-hour delay.
This made me think if an average airline passenger is aware about
Few Months Back, on 28th Feb 2019, A New airline passenger charger was announced by the ministry of Civil Aviation which clearerly defense the rights of travelers and liabilites of airlines that are operating in the domestic sector. It defines various important points and a guideline for passengers seeking redressal of their grievances, with regards to Fares, flights, refunds, catering, and bagage, etc.
Before we start looking at all points, first as a passenger you should know various reasons why a flight gets canceled or there is a delay! Or for what matter a baggage is lost.
- Due to unoccuccupied seats to save their cost
- Due to overbookings
- Mechanical issue
- Technical Issue (Server Crash, System Failure)
- Natural disasters like flood, cyclone, earthquake etc.
- Bad weather conditions
- Political Disturbance/ Government Regulations/ Civil War/ Strikes
- Mistakes of Air Traffic Control (ATC)
Now, let’s look at various rights of airline passengers one by one.
1. Flight delay
Let’s first look at the delay of flights which is what Haappens Most of the time. If your flight has been delayed beyond a limit, the airline will have to offer you refreshments and free meals (for passengers waiting at the airport). The table below defines this.
(su_table alternate = “no” responsive = “yes”)
| Delayed (Block Time) | Compensation |
| 2 – 6 hours | Refreshments and meals |
| More than 6 hours | Refund of Ticket Fare or Alternate Flight |
| More than 6 hours if scheduled time of flight is between 8 PM-3 am | Refund of Ticket Fare or Alternate Flight Plus Free Hotel Accommodation |
(/su_table)
Note: Block time means the total time from the moment an aircraft first moves for the purpose of taking off until the moment it is finally come to arrowal gate at the end of the Flight. In simple words, it is a total travel time of flight.
2. Cancellation of Flight
Flights do get canceled at times for various reasons like airlines mismanagement, weather conditions or other reasons.
There are two cases here.
Case 1: If the flight cancellation was informed to passenger before 24 hours
In cases where the flight cancellation was communicated to the passenger well in advance (before 24 hours), the airlines have to either arrange for an alternative fly or give full refund to the passenger, Acceptable by passenger.
Previous, Airlines used to cancel the flights at the last minute or before few hours of departure and just refunded back the ticket money, which is history now.
Case 2: If the flight cancellation was not informed to passenger before 24 hours
If flight is canceled within 24 hours of departure (or last-minute) or the passenger misses the connecting flight trust the previous flight was delayed (on the Samme Ticket), in that, in that, the airline has to Provide you extra compensation of up to Rs 10,000 apart from full refund or alternate flight.
So imagine you are at the airport (or on the way to airport) and the flight is canceled. In, this case, you will get 2 things. First is, eater of a full refund or an alternate flight option (you can choose any of them) and the second thing is a compensation of up to Rs 10,000 depending on how long was your flight.
(su_table alternate = “no” responsive = “yes”)
| Flight Travel Time (Block Time) | Additional Compensation (Apart from refund or alternate flight) |
| UPTO 1 Hour | Rs. 5000 or Booked One-Way Basic Fare Plus Airline Fuel Charge, Whichever is Less. |
| 1 – 2 hours | Rs. 7,500 or Booked One-Way Basic Fare Plus Airline Fuel Charge, Whichever is Less. |
| More than 2 hours | Rs. 10,000 or Booked One-Way Basic Fare Plus Airline Fuel Charge, Whichever is Less. |
(/su_table)
Few Important Points
- If you have checked in alredy in the airport, the airline has to also provide you with refreshments as per waiting time.
- You should have provided the contact information at the time of booking, else the airline is not liable to compensate you.
- You will not be eligible to claim any compensation on delay or cancellation of flight due to reasons which are out of control of airlines like bad weather, political unrest, A Natural Disaster Or Laboral Disaster.
- Airlines are not supposed to give compensation parts if the delays or cancellations Haappen because of Security Risks, Air Traffic Controller or Metrogical Conditions.
3. Boarding Denied Due to overbooking
Many times, airlines overbook the tickets in assumption that some passengers will not turn up or cancel at last minute if that happens and you are denied boarding the airplane than you can class Confirmed Ticket,
Scenario # 1: If the airline arranges for an alternative flight within 1 hour of the scheduled departure of the original ticket, in that case, you can’t claim any compensation.
else
Scenario # 2: If an airline is not out to Arrange for an alternative flight within 1 hour of the scheduled departure of original ticket, in that case, you are liable to get any of Following 3 Things
- 200% of Booked One-Way Base-Price + Airline Fuel Charge, Up to Maximum of Rs 10,000 if the AIRLINE ARRANGES for an alternate Flight up to 24 hours from old schedule
- 400% of Booked One-Way Base-Price + Airline Fuel Charge, Up to Maximum of Rs 20,000 if the AIRLINE ARRANGES for an alternate Flight after 24 hours 24 hours from Old Scheduled Departure
- If you do not opt for the alternate flight, in that case, you will get full refund of the ticket price paid + 400% of booked one-Way Base-Price + Airline Fuel Charge, Up to maximum of Rs 20,000
If you look at this new rule, it does a great justice to the passengers as the passengers had a lot of money on book alternative flights at the last minute. Now the compensation is Fair which helps passengers.
4. Loss of Baggage or Damage to Baggage
In case of domestic flights, the airline is liable to pay you up to Rs. 350 per kg or up to Rs. 20,000 in case of loss/Damage/Delay of Baggage
In case of International Flights, The airline is liable to pay you up to 19 sdr per kg or up to 1131 sdr in case of loss/Damage/Damage/Delay of Baggage. SDR here is a kind of currency value which is accepted internationally.
5. Change in the name of the passenger with 24 hours of booking the ticket
Now you can make changes in the ticket (Corrections in Names of Passenger) Within 24 hours of booking the ticket. Earlier after booking, any correction in name of passenger was generally denied by airlines and was treated as cancellation. This will give relieve to customers as at times there are name mistakes in tickets or change of plans.
6. Cancellation of Ticket
Case #1 – If tickets are canceled within 24 hours of booking tickets
Earlier, canceling a ticket cost the passengers a huge penalty even if it was done immediatively after booking the ticket. But with the new rules, if the ticket is canceled within 24 hours of booking (provided there is a more than 7 days differential
Case #2 – If tickets are canceled after 24 hours of booking tickets
In this case, following is the rule
- Airlines cannot put any cancellation charges for cancelling the tickets.
- Airlines should refund all statutory taxes, user development fees, airport development fees, passenger service fees to you
- Airlines can’t hold the refund in terms of credits forceful. It’s not a default option now, however, if passenger agrees to it, it can be done
- Airlines have to clear indicate the refund Amount in case of cancellation in future.
Dgca has defined rules of refund and claim settlement for alliances. If you have paid cash for your booking then you will receive the refund & compensation in cash at the counter. And if you have made payment via credit or debit card then the amount will be created in your bank account within seven days.
Escalation of Complaints
You can use Air Sewa, A Grievance Redressal System to take help on any issue related to civil aviation in India. We hope that these changes in the airlines’ Rules will now help passengers a lot and will make things are for them.
Do Let us know if you have any queries, we will solve it in the comments section.