Passengers could be compensated up to Rs 20,000 for flight delays, cancellations: Draft rules

A draft charter has proposed that air travellers could be paid up to Rs 20,000 for flight delays and cancellations and Rs 5,000 for being denied boarding.

Framed by Aviation Ministry, the proposal is expected to be placed in public domain after final round of meeting with the stakeholders, as per the officials.

Earlier last week, Civil Aviation Secretary, RN Choubey said the easy-to-understand passenger charter would mention all entitlements of an air traveller as the current regulations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation were not ‘passenger-friendly’.

"Therefore, our ministry is working on an easy-to-understand passenger charter in which we will be capturing all the entitlements that passengers have with regard to the service they should expect from the amount paid," he had said.

The proposal includes full refund in delays over six hour.

The compensation cost could be as high as Rs 20,000 if passengers miss connecting flights due to airline cancellations during the initial leg of the journey, according to the proposal.

The amount could be of Rs 5,000 in case of denial of boarding, as such cases have seen a steep rise in the recent past, the officials stated.