Soon, You May Be Able To Cancel Or Reschedule Your Flight Within 48 Hours With Full Refund

India's aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has come up with a proposal that will serve as a significant relief to air passengers.

As per PTI, DGCA is planning a series of reforms in the ticket refund norms, one of which includes free cancellation or rescheduling of tickets, but only if done within 48 hours of booking.

This will serve as a relief for passengers, who are charged an exorbitant amount if they wish to alter their travel plans after booking flight tickets.

Most flight-booking sites do offer an option to cancel or schedule flights for free, but it comes at a premium, and the reschedule or cancel option can only be used once.

According to the proposal made by the DGCA, airlines should provide a 'look-in' option for passengers, which will be valid 48 hours from the time of booking. The airline has to issue a full refund if the ticket is cancelled within that time frame.

“During this period, passengers can cancel or amend the ticket without any additional charges, except for the normal prevailing fare for the revised flight for which the ticket is sought to be amended,” the DGCA said.

The proposal was tabled in the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) pertaining to the refund of air tickets.

However, the new rule, if implemented, won't be applicable to everyone. As per the draft CAR, the 'look-in' option won't be applicable to domestic flights, whose departure is less than five days away and in the case of international flights, the cut-off time is 15 days.

“Beyond 48 hours of initial booking time, this option is not available and the passenger has to pay the relevant cancellation fees for amendment,” as per the draft CAR.

In addition to this, DGCA has also come up with several other proposals that will look to ease the burden on air passengers.