Airlines not to charge flat Rs 3,000 cancellation fee for cheaper tickets, says report

In a big relief to domestic travelers, airlines have said they have tweaked the flat Rs 3,000 cancellation fee rule for cheaper tickets after having received a missive from the industry regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, according to media reports. The DGCA had shot off letter to the local carriers after reports said airlines were charging a flat Rs 3,000 for cancellation of cheaper air tickets. A Times of India report says the DGCA has told these companies that cancellation fee should not be more than the sum of base fare and fuel surcharge. After the rap, the airlines have said they will now charge Rs 3,000 only for cancellation of tickets whose base fare and fuel surcharge together add up to Rs 3,000. Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha had also expressed his concerns over the issue. TOI report added that websites of majority of the airlines was carrying the Rs 3,000 flat cancellation charge which they have now tweaked. The ‘Refund of Airline Tickets to Passengers of Public Transport Undertakings’ rule came into effect from 1 August 2016. It says: “The issue of refund of tickets by airlines has become a major source of grievance amongst airline passengers,” according to a PTI report. The civil aviation authorities have received a large number of complaints from people who are opposed to such a move. These complaints mostly relate to delay in refund, amount refunded and policy of not giving a refund but adjusting the amount against future purchase of a passenger.

After the DGCA reminder the airlines have said they will now charge Rs 3,000 or base fare plus fuel surcharge per passenger or whichever is lower.