The Modi government has made it mandatory for airlines to compensate passengers in case of cancellation and delay in flights.
In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen. Dr V. K. Singh (Retd) said that the facilities to be offered to the affected passengers in case of flight disruption are already available on public domain in form of Passenger Charter published on Ministry’s website, CARS on DGCA website and on respective airline website. Adequate provisions to safeguard the interests of passengers are already in place.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) order, the airlines has to facilitate affected passengers due to cancellation and delay in flight in accordance with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV titled as “Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights”.
Under the provisions of CAR, the airline has to provide the following:
I. In case of cancellation, the airlines shall either provide alternate flight or provide compensation in addition to the full refund of air ticket. Additionally, the airline shall provide meals and refreshments to the passengers who have already reported for their original flight at the airport while waiting for the alternate flight.
II. In case of delay in flight, the airline is required to provide meals and refreshments, an alternate flight/full refund of ticket to the passenger or hotel accommodation (including transfers) depending on the total flight delay.
Airline shall not be obliged to compensate in cases where the cancellation and delay is caused by a force majeure event, i.e. extraordinary circumstance(s) beyond the control of the airline.
Facilities to be offered to the affected passengers in case of flight disruption are already available on public domain in form of Passenger Charter published on Ministry’s website, CARS on DGCA website and on respective airline website.
