Passengers who cancel flight tickets within 48 hours of booking do not have pay extra charges any more, thanks to civil aviation regulator's amended rules.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday revised refund policy. Passengers can also correct their names within 24 hours of booking without incurring extra charges.
If a person buys tickets through a travel agent or portal, the refund should be given by the airlines as the agents are their appointed representatives. The refund process has to be completed within 14 business days.
However, these exemptions will not be available for a flight whose departure is less than seven days for domestic flight and 15 days for international flight from booking date when ticket is booked directly through airline website, the DGCA stated.
"Beyond 48 hours of initial booking time, this option would not be available and the passenger would have to pay the relevant cancellation fees for amendment," he added.
In case of ticket cancellations due to a medical emergency, where the passenger or a family member listed on the same PNR gets admitted/hospitalised during the travel period, airlines may provide either a refund or a credit shell.
"For all other situations, refunds will be issued once an opinion on the passenger's fitness to travel certificate is received from an airline's Aerospace Medicine specialist/ DGCA empanelled Aerospace Medicine specialist," it said.
The revised policy comes amid complaints from passengers about delayed refunds. This came to the fore during widespread IndiGo flight disruptions in December.