Good news for Air passengers! Ticket cancellation charges cannot exceed base fares

Airlines will have to return components like service tax and other airport charges to passengers when they cancel their tickets.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told airlines flight cancellation fees cannot exceed base fares, as per a financial daily report.

As per a report in the Economic Times Airfares DGCA has made it clear to airlines that they will have to return components like service tax and other airport charges to passengers when they cancel their tickets.

The paper further said that the new rules will be announced soon as “DGCA has already held discussions with airlines on the new rules”. The ET has further stated that “booking site charges will also need to be included within the new limit.”

Budget carrier IndiGo had in April done away with the slab system for charging ticket cancellation fee and made it uniform at Rs 2,250.

National carrier Air India too had in February effected a hike of Rs 500 for cancelling its flight tickets, which now stands at Rs 2,000 per ticket.

The Civil Aviation Ministry is likely to announce soon new norms for baggage and denied boarding, amid the increasing number of complaints on these issues.