DGCA issues new refund rules: Airlines to offer 48-hour look-in period to make changes & refunds to be made within 14 days

NEW DELHI: Airlines will now provide a “look-in option” for a period of 48 hours after booking a ticket during which a passenger can cancel or amend the ticket without any additional charges, except fare difference, if the departure date is at least 7 and 15 days hence for domestic and international flights, respectively. Airlines will need to ensure refunds within 14 days and they will no longer be allowed to levy any charge for a name correction being made within 24 hours of the booking being made on their website.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has from Thursday revised refund rules and introduced passenger-friendly measures in what is often a painful process for travellers. “In case of purchase of ticket through travel agent/portal, onus of refund shall lie with airlines as agents are their appointed representatives. Airlines shall ensure that the refund process is completed within 14 working days,” the amended rules issued by DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai say.

“In the event of ticket cancellations due to a medical emergency, where the passenger or a family member listed on the same PNR gets admitted/hospitalised during the travel period, airlines may provide either a refund or a credit shell. For all other situations, refunds will be issued once an opinion on the passenger's fitness to travel certificate is received from an airline’s aerospace medicine specialist/ DGCA empanelled aerospace medicine specialist,” reads another amendment introduced in the rules.

The regulator has ruled that airlines “shall not levy any additional charge for correction in the name of the same person when the error is pointed out by the passenger within 24 hours of making the booking, when the ticket is booked directly through the airline website.”

About the 48-hour lock-in period, the amended rule says: “During this period passengers can cancel or amend the ticket without any additional charges, except for the normal prevailing fare for the revised flight for which the ticket is sought to be amended. This facility shall not be available for a flight whose departure is less than 7 days for domestic flight and 15 days for international flight from booking date when ticket is booked directly through the airline website. Beyond 48 hours of initial booking time, this option is not available and the passenger has to pay the relevant cancellation fees for amendment.”

The move to make the process a little passenger-friendly comes as the regulator admits: “The issue of refund of tickets by airlines has become a major source of grievance amongst passengers.” A majority of the complaints are about: Delay in refund of unused tickets; amount refunded against cancelled tickets; not refunding ticket amount but asking passengers to use that money to make another booking in a stipulated time period.

“While govt is committed not to interfere in the commercial practices of airlines, the volume of the complaints necessitates some affirmative action to safeguard the interest of the traveling public. The matter has been discussed in several meetings with the airlines with no improvement in the system adopted by airlines for refund of tickets. It is now considered that the onus rests with govt to fix some minimum benchmarks, as far as the refund policy is concerned in order to stem the growing dissatisfaction among the passengers regarding the refund procedures adopted by some airlines,” the regulator says.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search