The situation of India’s aviation industry is ever-growing. The competition in the airline sector is increasing after every passing day.
This is because each and every airline company is improving their services or giving additional services such as attractive deals, discounts or miles.
The other factors behind the rise of aircraft movement as well as passengers in the past three years is because of the surge in FDI, the collaboration between foreign companies or banks with airline companies and lots more.
So as you have seen the advancement of this ever-growing industry has showcased a bright future aviation sector. Whereas there are some consumer rights that are listed for the trust and safety of the customers.
So in this article, we will mention Everything about Safety Measures, Ticket Refund, and Ticket canceled Status.
What are your rights?
Most of the new fliers have at least a bad experience which is really horrifying when it comes to travelling from one place to another in an airplane.
From rescheduling to flight cancelling or delay in refund, the issue varies from customer to customer. Not everyone knows that consumer also can take help of basic rights during such situations.
Let us discuss it an elaborate way.
Know your notice requirements
Following are the notice requirements for passengers laid by most of the popular airline companies:
- For all the incoming airplanes within the country or foreign stations, the list and details of every passenger will be decided by the Indian Mission in the country of origin.
- The passengers who are the citizen of a particular country, having green card are allowed to fly to their destination.
- On the other hand, the Indian residents who are having a visa with a minimum residual validity of 3 months are also allowed to fly.
- Passengers should also have to familiarize as well as follow the social distancing rules within the airport premises.
- They also have to follow the rules regarding sanitization, if required.
- Thermal scanning will be done at various checkpoints at the time of travel.
- The fliers have to reach the airport three hours before the flight departure because of the strict protocol due to COVID-19.
- The check-in bag of a maximum of 20 kg is allowed to carry by the passenger.
- The customers are only allowed to seat on their booked seats.
Also Read: How to Find Cheap Flight
Twenty-Four Hour Reservation Rule
The aviation ministry has come up with the new update in their rule. They will not charge any fee for the travel cancelled. This initiative is taken by Air Sewa which is indeed a cost-saving step for the customer.
The passenger will get an option to cancel or amend the ticket without any sort of additional charges. This means there will not be any cancellation fee when the ticket is being cancelled with 24 hours of ticket booking.
Having said that after 24 hours of ticket booking time, the passenger will not get this option and he or she has to pay the required cancellation charges for the travel cancelled.
The cancellation of each and every airline companies vary as per their policies and other factors. The airline company will mention the particular charge on the ticket so that it does not ask for any extra fee in future.
Involuntary Refund Policies laid by the Airline Companies
Following are some of the important policies regarding the involuntary refunds:
- Ticket payment done by credit cards will be provided as a refund within 7 working days from the date of cancellation. The amount will get transferred to the holder of the credit card through online banking.
- Passengers who have booked the ticket through cash can collect their refund amount directly from the airline office from where they have booked the tickets.
- Ticket bought through a travel agent will mutually finalize about the ticket refund between customer and travel agent.
- The airline companies will also send the refund amount of PSF that is collected by the fliers on non-utilization or cancellation.
- The entire ticket refund amount includes basic charges, fuel surcharge, congestion and other additional costs.
Flight Schedule Change Loopholes
For instance, due to extraordinary circumstances, COVID-19 does not make the passenger get the compensations when his or her flight is cancelled as a result of it.
While airline companies are not bound to pay compensation to their passenger as they have already laid policies which consist of two main points:
- A refund for the ticket.
- A travel voucher will be provided to the passenger on the other date when the air travel will be back to normal.
Here we would advise the passengers to accept the second option if they believe that they will travel in future. This will help the airline companies to grow rather than getting a ticket refund.
Having said that the decision solely depends on the passengers as they too are facing many issues, thus the ticket refund is also an option.
What can you do if an Airline Refuses to Refund your Ticket?
If you are facing problem to get the ticket refund of the travel cancelled then let us say you that you are not the only person as many people are facing the same issue.
Now how to get the ticket refund hassle-free? Well, the following points will help you in this case.
Check if you are really due a refund
Here the airline company should have to mention that the passenger is due a refund. This tells that they have cancelled the flight not you.
How to get the ticket refund?
When the first step is completed, the second thing you have to do is give your best to get in touch with the airline companies and request them to transfer the refund amount as soon as possible.
What to do if the airline refuses to pay the refund?
This problem is said by many travellers, so in such cases, you have to file a DOT complaint. It comes in an online form which does not take much time to fill up.
You have to mention the problem in a detailed way and all the details of the flights. It takes 30 to 60 days for airline companies to respond to this complaint.
So these are all the basic information about the ticket refund and ticket changing rights of a consumer. We would advise you to follow all these rules and if required cancel the ticket within 24 hours for getting the hassle-free ticket refund. We hope this article was helpful to you.