The recent edition of passenger charter released by Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu comes with many flying rights updated. Here’s everything you need to know. By Kumar Shree
1. Cancellation Of Ticket By The Passenger
The biggest update in passenger charter is regarding the cancellation of ticket. You can now cancel your ticket for free within 24 hours of booking. The only other condition that’s applicable here is that your journey should be scheduled within a week of the booking. In case you happen to cancel the ticket after 24 hours, then you would be charged the base charge and fuel surcharge as well.
2. Delay & Cancellation Of Domestic Flights
In case of a cancellation, the airline must inform passengers a day in advance. If they fail to do so, they must refund the full ticket cost or provide an alternate flight as suitable to the passenger. The refund amount should reflect at the time of booking itself. In case of a domestic flight getting delayed by more than 6 hours, the airline would either have to offer an alternate flight within the time or refund the entire amount.
3. Providing Accommodation
A new amendment for providing free hotel accommodation has also been made. It says that if the domestic flight is expected to be delayed by 24 hours or more, the airline will have to provide free hotel accommodation for the passenger. The same condition applies in case of a 6-hour delay if the scheduled departure of the flight is anytime between 8 pm and 3 am.
4. Name Correction
As of now, getting a name correction on your ticket is treated as a cancellation and it requires the flyer to pay an additional charge. The same has also been changed. Now you can get a name correction for free within 24 hours of the booking.
5. Missing Connecting Flight
In case the passenger misses the connecting flight, there is no provision of compensation now. However, according to the amendment, if the passenger happens to miss a flight, he can claim compensation for anything between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. The amount of compensation will depend on the flight duration. The only condition applicable in this case is that both the ticket of the former and the latter flight must be in the same PNR.
6. Baggage Loss
Currently, if an airline misplaces your baggage, they would pay you a compensation amount of Rs 3,000. As per the new norms, a passenger can now claim the compensation of up to Rs 20,000 at Rs 350 per kg.
7. Overbooking Of Flight
If a passenger is denied boarding the flight because of overbooking, the airline must provide an alternative flight within one hour of the original flight’s departure. If they fail in doing so, the passenger can demand compensation and the airline can also attract a fine of up to Rs 20,000.
Related: FYI: Air India Has Launched Late Night Flights For Just Rs 1,000, Starting Today!
