The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revised the ticketing rules to introduce more passenger-friendly measures, offering significant relief to passengers. The aviation regulator has updated refund norms, removed name correction fees in some cases and simplified the refund process after receiving numerous passenger complaints and complaints about how airlines handle these issues.
Under the updated norms, passengers can now cancel or modify tickets without paying any additional fees within 48 hours of booking, subject to certain conditions.
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Introduced the possibility of viewing for 48 hours
The Revised Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), issued on February 24, introduce a “review facility” that allows passengers to review their bookings after purchase.
“During this time, the passenger may cancel or modify the ticket without any additional charges, except for the normal prevailing tariff for the modified flight for which the ticket change is requested.
“This facility will not be available for a flight whose departure is less than 7 days for a domestic flight and 15 days for an international flight from the date of booking where the ticket is booked directly through the airline’s website,” the regulator said.
However, after the first 48 hours, this option will not be available and passengers will have to pay the applicable cancellation or change fees.
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No charge for name correction within 24 hours
In another key change, the watchdog said airlines may not charge any additional fees for correcting the same passenger’s name if the error is reported within 24 hours of booking, provided the ticket was booked directly through the airline’s website.
Additionally, passengers who identify and report a name error within this time frame will be able to make corrections at no additional cost.
The deadline for refunds and tax refunds has been clarified
The DGCA has directed airlines to process refunds within 14 working days for tickets booked through travel agencies or online portals.
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According to the revised norms, airlines have to refund all statutory taxes and user development fee (UDF), airport development fee (ADF) and passenger service fee (PSF) in case of cancellation, non-use of tickets or no-show. This rule applies to all fare categories, including promotional and special fares where the basic fare is non-refundable.
Added medical emergency provision
According to the regulator, in cases where a passenger or a family member listed on the same PNR is hospitalized during the trip, airlines can offer either a refund or a credit box.
“In all other situations, refunds will be issued once we receive the passenger’s fitness to travel certificate from the airline’s aero-medical specialist / aero-medical specialist with DGCA representation,” it said.
A move aimed at addressing passenger complaints
The updated CAR introduces several structural changes to the airline reimbursement framework, primarily aimed at addressing long-standing passenger complaints.
In December 2025, scheduled airlines received 29,212 passenger complaints, of which 7.5 percent were for refunds. During the same period, domestic carriers transported over 1.43 million passengers, according to DGCA data.
(With inputs from news agency PTI)
