Air India releases new policy for flight cancellation

Guwahati: The passengers of Air India has a good news as the airlines informed that its passengers will be able to cancel flight tickets without any charges within 24 hours with effect from May 1.

Air India has released a circular in which it has been mentioned the new ticket cancellation policy. According to the circular published by the Airlines, this facility will be available only if the flight is scheduled at least seven days after the booking date.

In a circular issued by Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director on April 24, it said that the airlines have decided that for sale and travel, all domestic tickets will have the free look-in option for change and cancellation as prescribed by DGCA with effect from May 1, 2019.

The new changes in flight ticket booking have been introduced after the DGCA issued a passenger rights charter which was released in February and specified the rights of air traveler.

The circular further reads as, “The passenger has an option of cancelling or amending the ticket without any additional charges, that is cancellation or change fee is not applicable when the same is done within 24 hours of ticketing.”

It has also been mentioned in the circular that beyond 24 hours of initial booking time the option is not available and the passenger has to pay the relevant cancellation or change fees for amendment.

However, the policy of cancellation is different for different airlines and it depends on many factors. The charges also vary across economy, premium and business classes.

Earlier in February, a new charter was released by the Civil Aviation Ministry where it has been mentioned that the air travellers in India will be able to claim compensation for the flights cancelled within 24 hours of booking.

The air travellers will be able to claim compensation cancelled within 24 hours of booking if it is scheduled after a week. They will also be paid for any cancellations, delays or boarding denials.

The new charter amended the norms for charges incurred by travellers on cancellation and rescheduling of air travel among others. The new rules also said that the new compensation structure will apply only if it is found that the flight delay or cancellation was caused by the airline concerned.

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