Charter to ease air travel pushed back, airlines not on board

SECTOR CRISIS RIPPLES No decision on draft as airlines reeling from losses oppose compensation, cheap cancellations

The current financial troubles Indian airlines find themselves in, and objections raised by them, have prompted the government to put on hold a so-called passenger charter detailing the rights flyers are entitled to, two civil aviation ministry officials said on condition of anonymity.

A draft of the charter said passengers could cancel tickets free of charge as long as this was done within 24 hours of booking and at least four days ahead of the scheduled departure. It also allowed them to make corrections in the name on the ticket at no extra cost. Airlines objected to both. They were also unhappy at the compensation flyers were entitled to on account of cancellation of flights or other issues and claimed this was set too high.

“The airlines have requested us to look into the high compensation charges as fares in India are very low and such high compensation cannot be justified. The second main objection from them is allowing cancellation, as according to them, their business will get affected if this is done,” said one of the officials.

Under the new set of rules put forth in the document, passen-

NEWDELHI:

Cancellation charges can’t be more than total of basic fare and fuel surcharge. No rescheduling/ cancellation fee

No charge for correction in name if it’s up to 3 characters and requested within 24 hours

Passengers must be given the option to switch to an alternative flight within two hours of the original departure, if the cancellation is announced between two weeks and 24 hours in advance Passengers must be refunded full value of ticket if flight is cancelled 24 hours prior to departure

gers will also be entitled to a refund if the flight is delayed for over four hours even if the delay has been communicated a day in advance. Additionally, missing a connecting flight due to a delay caused by the airline could entitle flyers to a refund of anything between ₹5,000 and ₹20,000.

The draft, which was opened for public consultation for a month on May 21, received responses from airlines, passenger associations, airport operators MINIMUM COMPENSATION AS FOLLOWS:

per kg for lost per kg for delay per kg for damage

and frequent air travellers. The ministry has held two rounds of meetings with the stakeholders and is yet to take a final decision on the draft.

Part of this may be prompted by the crisis airlines face.

“Airlines are posting losses due to rising fuel cost and rupee depreciation. This might not be the good time to notify the passenger charter and burden the airline further. We will wait for