Flight Delayed or Cancelled? What to Know About Your Rights and How to Get Full Refund | Explained

It has been a week of cancellations and delays for the flyers across the country as the formation of ‘very dense’ to ‘dense fog’ severely impacted flight movement. Nearly 500 flights were delayed while 10 were cancelled at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday.

The visibility at Delhi Airport remained at zero metres from 12:30 am to 10:30 am and was below 200 metres till 11:30 am on Sunday, making it the worst spell of fog this season.

The fog condition remained similar across the country with major delays reported at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. 53 flights were delayed while there were eight cancellations on Sunday, leaving passengers from Bengaluru enraged.

The delays even led to minor scuffles and calls for legal action against an airliner. A passenger aboard an IndiGo flight, en route to Goa from Delhi, physically assaulted the pilot while he was making an announcement regarding delays.

Another passenger took to X (formerly Twitter) to narrate “his worst flight experience” as the Calcutta-Bengaluru IndiGo flight was delayed no less than six times, totalling seven hours. The passenger, Kaushal Kumbhat, threatened to sue IndiGo for “gross negligence, mental harassment and apathy” after his son’s flight was delayed for several hours before being cancelled.

But what rights do passengers have in case of delay or when the fight is cancelled? The airliner regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has a specific CAR (Civil Aviation Regulation) to deal with cases of delayed flights, cancelled flights and overbooking.

Flight Delays

In cases of flight delays, there is a provision to offer refreshments or meals to passengers. However, the delay would be considered applicable depending on the block time (duration of flight). The criteria are:

– If a flight having a block time of up to two and half hours, is delayed beyond two hours.

– If a flight having a block time between 2.5-5 hours, is delayed beyond three hours.

– If a flight is delayed beyond four hours.

If the delay is six hours or more, the airliner must communicate the rescheduled time 24 hours before the departure time. Passengers can ask for an option of either an alternative flight or even a full refund of the ticket.

If the flight is delayed for more than 24 hours, the passengers should be provided with accommodation. The same would be applicable in case the airline is delayed for more than six hours for flights departing between 8:00 pm and 3 am.

Air India has recently introduced the “Fog Care” initiative, which allows affected passengers to reschedule or cancel their flights without any additional charges.

However, airlines are exempted from paying any compensation when the delay is due to Air Traffic Control (ATC), security, natural disasters, political issues, etc. While the other provisions are well-defined, parameters like ATC cannot be well-defined.

Cancellations

In case of cancellations, the DGCA guidelines say that the airline needs to inform the passenger at least two weeks before the travel date and arrange an alternate flight or refund the passenger.

If the cancellation is announced between two weeks and up to 24 hours before the scheduled time, then the airline is bound to offer an alternate flight or refund the ticket.

In case the passengers are not informed or they miss the connecting flight on the same ticket number (PNR), the airline has to provide an alternate flight or compensation which includes:

– full refund and Rs 5,000 or booked one-way basic fare whichever is less for flights having block time of up to one hour

– full refund and Rs 7,500 or booked one-way basic fare whichever is less for flights between one to two hours.

– Full refund and Rs 10,000 or booked one-way basic fare, whichever is less for flights above two hours.

In case of alternate flights, the airlines have to provide meals and refreshments and hotel accommodation including transfers as required.

Check Travel Insurance, Flight Policy

Passengers affected by fog-related disruptions may be eligible for rebooking on the next available flight without additional charges in some cases. They might also be offered a refund for the affected journey.

It is always advisable to check your travel insurance policy, as it may provide coverage for certain expenses incurred due to flight delays or cancellations.

How to Cancel a Flight and Claim Full Refund

Here’s how to cancel your flight ticket.

– Go to your airline’s website and head to the ‘Manage Booking’ section.

– Enter the PNR or the booking reference number, which is available in the ticket or your booking receipt on your mail, and enter the last name of the passenger whose booking needs to be cancelled.

– select the Modify/Cancel option and proceed accordingly. It is advisable to read the cancellation terms and conditions.

A passenger can claim compensation in case of cancellations and delays by taking the matter up with the nodal officer of the concerned airline. However, passengers need to claim refunds for being denied boarding within a month of the incident taking place.

When filing their claim, customers must upload all necessary documents required by the airline to complete in the process. These include your contact details, number of the credit card used for purchase, ticket number, flight number, date of travel and billing address.

If the passenger feels that his complaint has not been resolved, there is a system for online reporting and tracking of grievances concerning airports, flights and other air travel-related matters at the AirSewa portal of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.