Government reviews cancellation charges for delayed flights

NEW DELHI: Flight delays may soon cost airlines dear if they are to blame for the behind schedule operations. And, cancelling flight tickets may not mean huge losses for passengers due to steep charges. The Modi government is reviewing issues like these that directly impact air travellers in a bid to have passenger-friendly skies.

“We are drawing up a ‘charter for passengers’ which will spell out everything clearly in an intelligible manner (meaning simple language and legal jargon that can be understood only by airlines). As part of that, we are reviewing the cancellation charge policy to ensure that the same is ‘reasonable’. The delayed flight compensation is also being examined,” said aviation secretary R N Choubey.

Existing DGCA rules stipulate domestic cancellation charges will be Rs 3,000 or base fare plus fuel surcharge per passenger, whichever is lower. The government had in August, 2016, asked airlines to pay fines of up to Rs 20,000 to a flyer for denied boarding and up to Rs 10,000 for delaying or cancelling a flight beyond two hours if the delay is due to carriers’ fault. Now, this is also being reviewed.