DGCA issued detailed guidelines regarding the refund of the cancelled flight ticket due to coronavirus-triggered lockdown.
Now the Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA)
has categorized passengers in three categories based on the court’s order and accordingly they will be providing the1. People who booked tickets between March 25 and May 24 for travel within the same period.
DGCA Guideline- These passengers must be given a full refund by the airline concerned for the tickets cancelled according to the operator.
2. People who booked tickets prior to March 25 but the travel period was till May 24.
DGCA Guideline – For this category, the airlines should “make all endeavours” to refund these passengers within 15 days.
3. People who booked tickets anytime but for a journey post-May 24.
DGCA Guideline – For this category, they will be given a refund in accordance with the existing DGCA rules.
What If Airlines Are Financially Stressed?
To answer this question, DGCA said, “If on account of financial stress, any airline/airlines are not able to do so, they shall provide a credit shell equal to the amount of fare collected (to the passenger),”.
Moreover, the passengers can then use the credit shells to book any ticket by March 31, 2021, as per the guidelines provided by the DGCA.