Flight Ticket Downgraded? DGCA Asks Airlines To Reimburse Passengers. Check Details

With the implementation of new regulations by the aviation regulator DGCA, passengers whose rights previously suffered as a result of their tickets being downgraded will receive reimbursement.

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With the implementation of new guidelines by the aviation regulator DGCA, airlines will now reimburse 75 per cent of the ticket costs to passengers whose domestic flight tickets have been downgraded, news agency PTI reported. 

Depending on the distance covered by the specific flight, the reimbursement amount for downgraded international tickets ranges from 30 per cent to 75 per cent of the ticket price, including taxes, according to the report. 

The new norms will be effective from February 15, PTI reported citing a  senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday.

The regulator decided to change the norms in response to complaints from passengers who had their tickets booked for a specific class downgraded by airlines, the report said. 

In December of last year, the DGCA proposed that airlines refund the full value of such tickets, including taxes, and that affected passengers be flown for free in the next available class.

However, those proposals have been modified in accordance with international practices, as per the report. 

The Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) pertaining to facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, flight cancellation, and flight delays has been amended by the watchdog.

According to a statement released by the DGCA on Wednesday, "the amendment will allow the passenger, who is downgraded involuntarily and is carried in a class lower than that for which the ticket is purchased, to be reimbursed by the airline."

The airline will reimburse the passenger for the downgrade of a domestic flight ticket for 75 per cent of the ticket price, including taxes.

For flights travelling 1,500 kilometres or less, a passenger who downgrades an international ticket will receive 30 per cent of the ticket's cost, including taxes. According to the statement, the amount will be 50 per cent inclusive of taxes if the flight is between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres in duration.

For flights that are lengthier than 3,500 kilometres, 75 per cent of total of the ticket price, including taxes, will be reimbursed.

According to the regulator, the modifications were made to better protect the rights of air travellers whose tickets were downgraded.

(With Inputs From PTI)