'75% of the cost of domestic ticket': Who are eligible for DGCA's revised reimbursement policy

Aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday informed that it has amended facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights, and delays in flights. This step is taken to strengthen the rights of air travellers affected by the downgrading of their tickets, the regulator said. 

As per the revised policy, the airlines will now have to reimburse passengers if they are downgraded involuntarily and are carried in a class lower than that for which the ticket is purchased.  

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For the domestic sector, the airlines will have to reimburse 75 per cent of the cost of tickets including taxes. For the international sector, 30 per cent of the cost of the ticket including taxes for flights of 1500 km or less, 50 per cent for flights between 1500km to 3500km, and 75  per cent for flights more than 3500km.

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This comes just weeks after a Delhi-bound Go First plane left the Bengaluru airport without taking more than 50 passengers, who were waiting in a shuttle bus for boarding. Some passengers said that a busload of passengers were not taken onboard the Go First flight from Bengaluru to Delhi. The flight, G8 116, departed at 6.40 am, leaving behind the passengers.

Go First apologised to passengers who were left behind and said an inadvertent oversight in the reconciliation of the flight to Delhi led to the incident.

The airline ordered an inquiry as well as derostered all the staff who were involved in the incident. It also offered all affected flyers one free ticket for travel on any domestic sector in the next 12 months. "We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to an inadvertent oversight in the reconciliation of flight G8 116, from Bengaluru to Delhi," the airline said in a statement.