Flight Cancelled or Delayed? Airline Refund Rules, Compensation and AirSewa Complaints
DGCA's rules bind airlines: cancellation without adequate notice means a full refund plus compensation (₹5,000–10,000 by flight length) or an acceptable alternative; long delays trigger meals and hotel accommodation; denied boarding pays up to ₹20,000. Refunds must reach you within 7 days for cards. Complain to the airline, then AirSewa (DGCA's portal), then the consumer commission — where airlines routinely lose refund cases.
कानूनी समय-सीमाएँ
- Immediately — Claim at the airport/airline (in writing/app — get reference numbers)
- 7 days (cards) — Refund processing duty (30 days for agent/cash bookings)
- After airline reply — AirSewa escalation (DGCA grievance portal)
- 2 years — Consumer complaint (from the deficiency)
चरण-दर-चरण: क्या करें
- 1
Know the CAR entitlements
DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements set the floor, not airline goodwill.
विवरण देखें
Under DGCA's CAR Section 3, Series M rules: cancellation without 2 weeks' notice (or an acceptable reschedule) = refund + compensation of ₹5,000/₹7,500/₹10,000 by block time; delays = meals/refreshments by wait length, hotel accommodation for overnight-class delays, and full refund if delay exceeds specified hours; denied boarding (overbooking) = alternate flight or compensation up to ₹20,000. Extraordinary circumstances (weather, ATC) exempt compensation — but never the refund.
- 2
Claim in writing, then AirSewa
Airline first with references; DGCA portal escalation.
विवरण देखें
यह हम आपके लिए करते हैं — ₹999File the claim in the airline's app/web complaint channel citing the CAR provision and your flight facts; keep boarding passes, cancellation SMS/emails and expense receipts (meals/hotel/alternate transport you had to buy). Unsatisfied? Escalate on AirSewa — the DGCA grievance portal where airlines answer under regulatory watch; nodal officers respond within set timelines. Refund timing is itself regulated: 7 days to the card, immediate for cash, 30 days via agents.
- 3
The traps: "non-refundable", OTAs and vouchers
Taxes always refund; agents can't hold your money; vouchers are optional.
विवरण देखें
Even on "non-refundable" fares, statutory taxes and fees must be refunded on cancellation by you — airlines keeping the full amount are wrong. Booked via an OTA/agent? The airline's refund duty stands, and the agent must pass it within the 30-day chain — chase both in writing. Credit shells/vouchers instead of money: your consent is required — you may insist on the monetary refund where the airline cancelled. International itineraries on foreign carriers layer their regimes (EU261 etc.) on top — claim under the stronger rule.
- 4
Consumer commission: where airlines pay up
Deficiency + compensation for the holiday that died.
विवरण देखें
Airlines are service providers, and commissions award refund + interest + compensation for consequential loss (missed connections, hotel losses, the ruined event) with costs — case law is rich and claimant-friendly on cancellations and refund delays. File on e-Daakhil (process guide) from your city; a ₹999 advocate's notice first often shakes the refund loose. Claims to ₹5 lakh: zero court fee.
खर्च और क्या उम्मीद करें
- Free
Airline + AirSewa complaints
Regulatory grievance chain
- ₹999
Advocate's notice
Computed claim incl. consequential losses
- ₹0–slab
e-Daakhil complaint
No fee up to ₹5 lakh
- ₹299
Consultation
Multi-leg/foreign-carrier claims
Save everything same-day: screenshots of delay boards, SMS timestamps, expense bills. Airline systems "lose" context quickly; passengers with receipts get paid.
इस समस्या के मुफ्त फॉर्मेट
अक्सर पूछे जाने वाले सवाल
The airline cancelled and offered only a credit shell. Must I accept?
No — for airline-initiated cancellations the refund option is yours; credit vouchers require your consent. Decline in writing, demand the monetary refund citing the CAR, and escalate to AirSewa if pushed. Voucher-only stances collapsed legally post-2020; airlines know it.
How much compensation for a cancelled flight without notice?
Alongside the full refund or alternate flight: ₹5,000 or one-way fare+fuel charge (whichever less) for blocks up to 1 hour, ₹7,500 for 1–2 hours, ₹10,000 beyond — unless you were informed 2+ weeks ahead or weather/ATC-type causes apply. Consequential losses go to the consumer forum on top.
My connecting flight was missed because the first leg was delayed. Who pays?
Same-PNR connections: the airline must rebook you and provide care (meals/hotel); compensation follows the delay rules and consumer forums add consequential loss for genuinely missed onward plans. Separate-PNR self-connections are your risk legally — claim the delayed leg's entitlements and insurance.
I cancelled a non-refundable ticket. Do I get anything back?
Yes — statutory taxes, user development fees and similar components must be refunded even on non-refundable fares; only the fare portion is forfeitable per fare rules. Airlines silently keeping taxes is a standard, winnable complaint.
How do EU/US rules interact for international flights?
Flights departing the EU (any carrier) or on EU carriers into the EU attract EU261 compensation (€250–600) — often richer than DGCA's; US rules mandate refunds for cancellations. Claim under the most favourable applicable regime; forums here also entertain deficiency claims for foreign-carrier tickets sold in India.
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