The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revised air ticketing rules to introduce more passenger-friendly measures, offering significant relief to travellers. The aviation regulator has updated refund norms, removed name-correction fees in certain cases, and simplified the refund process after receiving numerous passenger grievances and complaints about airlines’ handling of such issues.
Under the updated norms, passengers can now cancel or modify air tickets without paying additional charges within 48 hours of booking, subject to specific conditions.
Look-in option introduced for 48 hours
The revised Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), issued on 24 February, introduces a ‘Look-in option’ that allows passengers to review their bookings after purchase.
“During this period, a passenger 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.
“This facility shall not be available for a flight whose departure is less than 7 days for domestic flight and 15 days for international flight from booking date when ticket is booked directly through airline website,” the regulator said.
However, beyond the initial 48 hours, the option will not be available and passengers will have to pay applicable cancellation or amendment charges.
No fee for name correction within 24 hours
In another key change, the watchdog said airlines must not levy any additional charge for correcting the name of the same passenger if the error is reported within 24 hours of booking, provided the ticket was booked directly through the airline’s website.
Additionally, travelers who identify and report a name error within this timeframe will be allowed to make corrections without incurring extra costs.
Refund timeline and tax reimbursement clarified
The DGCA has directed airlines to process refunds within 14 working days for tickets booked through travel agents or online portals.
Under the revised norms, airlines must refund all statutory taxes and User Development Fee (UDF), Airport Development Fee (ADF), and Passenger Service Fee (PSF) in cases of cancellation, non-utilization of tickets, or no-show. This rule applies to all fare categories, including promotional and special fares where the base fare is non-refundable.
Medical emergency provisions added
According to the regulator, in cases where a passenger or a family member listed on the same PNR is hospitalized during the travel period, airlines may offer 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 empaneled Aerospace Medicine specialist,” it said.
Move aimed at addressing passenger grievances
The updated CAR introduces several structural changes to the airline refund framework, primarily aimed at resolving long-standing passenger complaints.
In December 2025, scheduled airlines received 29,212 passenger-related complaints, of which 7.5% were related to refunds. During the same period, domestic carriers transported over 1.43 crore passengers, according to DGCA data.
(With inputs from PTI)
