New Refund Rule To Aid Fliers

The guidance proposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on flight ticket refunds will provide great relief to passengers who are faced with non-transparent refund policies, high cancellation fees, delayed refunds and mandatory credit shells.

The draft Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) published by the aviation regulator aims to address important issues by establishing minimum standards of transparency, accountability and fairness across the aviation sector.

Central to the proposal is the introduction of a 48-hour “lookout” window that would allow travelers to cancel or change their bookings without penalty. This measure recognizes that people’s travel plans may change and they should not be penalized for reconsidering their travel plans soon after making a purchase.

In order to protect the interests of airlines, the DGCA sought to exclude flights departing within five days (domestic) and 15 days (international) to prevent the surveillance provision from being misused and affecting the operational planning of airlines.

DGCA also clarified that even if the tickets are booked through travel agencies, the responsibility for issuing refunds lies with the airline since the agency is the representative of the airline. This eliminates the gray area that airlines often use to avoid liability.

The proposal would also require airlines to clearly display cancellation fees upfront and cap those fees to prevent them from exceeding the base fare plus the fuel surcharge. These steps could end the practice of airlines retaining nearly the entire cost of tickets even if cancellations are made well in advance.

Although changes to the refund were proposed, the regulator made it clear that it had to intervene to protect people’s interests after airlines failed to address passengers’ complaints satisfactorily. Airlines cannot achieve long-term stability unless they reach a mutually beneficial business proposition that also takes into consideration the interests of passengers.