New rules related to flight tickets
There is big news of relief for those traveling by air. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed to make major changes in the rules related to air ticket refund and cancellation. Its purpose is to provide more convenience, transparency and security to the passengers. The difficulties that passengers often had to face due to flight cancellation or ticket change may now gradually end.
48 hours free cancellation and change facility
Under the new proposal of DGCA, now passengers will be able to cancel or modify the ticket without any charge for 48 hours after booking the flight. This is called ‘look-in period’. This means that if you have booked a ticket and suddenly the plan changes, the change can be made without penalty within 48 hours.
However, this facility will not be applicable on certain bookings such as if the ticket is booked less than five days in advance for domestic flights or less than 15 days in advance for international flights. In this situation, the airline’s normal cancellation charges will remain applicable.
Now refund will not get stuck, money will be received in 21 days
One of the biggest complaints of passengers was the delay in refunds. DGCA has proposed to improve this also. Now it will be mandatory for airlines to give refund within 21 working days. Not only this, even if the passenger cancels the ticket at the last moment or does not arrive for the flight (no-show), the airline will still have to refund the airport fees and taxes.
Along with this, DGCA has also made it clear that if a passenger asks to correct a minor mistake in his name (such as a spelling error) within 24 hours of booking, then the airlines cannot charge any extra fee for it.
Relief for travel agents and medical emergencies
Many times passengers book their tickets through travel agents and later face problems regarding refund. Now as per the proposal of DGCA, the responsibility of refund of such tickets will be directly of the airline and not of the agent. This will provide direct and fast solutions to passengers.
Relief has been given to passengers even in situations like medical emergency. If a passenger has to cancel a flight due to illness or emergency, the airline may issue a credit shell (travel voucher) only in that case, but this cannot be implemented without the consent of the passenger.
Passengers’ rights will be strengthened
This proposal of DGCA is an important step towards strengthening the rights of air passengers. This will not only increase the accountability of airlines, but will also make the entire process from ticket booking to refund more transparent and reliable. Passengers will now be confident that if their flight is canceled or has to be changed, both their money and time are safe.