Free cancellation, refunds for delays: Govt comes up with new charter for flyers

NEW DELHI: Flyers will soon be able to cancel flight tickets free of charge as long as they do it within 24 hours of booking and at least four days ahead of the scheduled departure according to draft passenger charter issued by the civil aviation ministry on Tuesday.

The charter comes at a time when there is significant consumer angst against the charges levied by airlines, and against the backdrop of several instances of alleged mistreatment of passengers by airlines.

According to the charter, passengers will also be allowed to correct their names in tickets at no extra charge.

The draft will be kept open for comments for 30 days. The government expects to notify it by mid-july. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a lobby group of airlines, said it is waiting for inputs from member airlines.

Civil aviation secretary RN Choubey said travel portals will be regulated for the first time under this charter. “Cancellation charges must be printed prominently on the ticket in a minimum font size of 12-points, and not as fine print. This information must also be provided as part of reservation and ticket documentation,” the charter said.

The draft also has a new rule for passengers with disability. As per the existing provision, two window seats in the front row, (if not emergency exit) were blocked for them but used to be released 24 hours prior to time of departure; the new rule says airlines should block these seats, which will have adequate leg space and won’t cost extra, will remain blocked until close to the time of departure.

“Vistara fully supports the initiative to bring more transparency, accountability, and customer convenience for air travellers. We already voluntarily provide several of the benefits, such as free change/cancel within 24 hours of booking if the booking made on our website and app, free name changes for genuine mistakes, free accommodation in our next available flight if a customer misses his or her flight for reasons not in their control, compensation for the rare cases of overbooking -re-

lated denied boarding, meals and refreshments for delays, accommodation on next available flight on own or other airline for schedule changes and cancellations that were not caused by force majeure, flexible fares with minimal change and cancel fees, and so forth,” said a spokesperson for Vistara.

The association for air passengers is however not entirely happy with the draft and would be sending the suggestion to the civil aviation ministry.

“One aspect where they are saying, cancellation charges should not be more than base fare and fuel surcharge, the provision of including fuel surcharge is wrong. If you are not flying, why should you pay fuel surcharge?,” said D Sudhakara Reddy, founder of the Air Passenger Association of India.

“While the proposals made by the ministry are a step in the right direction, it leaves out key aspects. Based on an initial review, so far it appears that the fines and penalties imposed would affect Full Service Airlines more than Low Cost Airlines, something that should not be the case,” said Mark Martin, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Martin Consulting.

DIGIYATRA

Minister of state for civil aviation, Jayant Sinha said the Digiyatra program would transform the flying experience for passengers and position the Indian aviation

sector amongst the most innovative in the world.

Passengers will have to enroll in to Digiyatra program through Airsewa app and a Digiyatra verified passenger will get hassle-free entry at airport through E-gates. The ID verification will be done by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Standards-approved Government ID, including Aadhaar (although Aadhaar isn’t mandatory for entry).

“Ministry of civil aviation has finalized the technical standards for Digiyatra which will be published shortly. Airports such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Varanasi and Vijayawada will roll out this programme in phases by January 2019,” a ministry official said.

WI-FI CONNECTIVITY IN FLIGHTS

Both domestic and international airlines are allowed to offer internet services and mobile services on-board an aircraft in Indian airspace provided certain security requirements are met. According to the civil aviation ministry, internet services can be provided from the moment a plane takes off.

“Mobile services can be allowed only when an aircraft is over an altitude of 3,000 metres. All approvals have been recently provided and now interested stakeholders need to apply for licenses and regulatory clearances,” civil aviation secretary RN Choubey said.