·     At the time of booking, the airline must clearly “indicate” the amount of refund money that will be given to passenger in case of cancellation, the charter states.

·       If any passenger is denied boarding due to over booking of a flight, the passenger would not be liable to hold airline for compensation if he or she is given an alternate flight within one hour of original flight’s departure, it states.

·In case of a delay of over 24 hours, the passenger should be offered free hotel accommodation

·   If the flier is not informed 24 hours before departure or she misses a connecting flight due to cancellation, the airline has to offer compensation

·      If a flight is delayed by over six hours, the airline needs to communicate the rescheduled time more than 24 hours before the original departure time. The airline also needs to offer customers either a full refund or an alternative flight.

·      In case of a delay of over 24 hours, the passenger should be offered free hotel accommodation. Free stay should also be offered if flights departing between 8pm and 3am are delayed for over six hours.

·       Airlines also need to offer meals and refreshments to passenger in case of delays beyond a certain period. For example, the passenger should get refreshments if a flight that has a block time of two-and-a-half hours is delayed by two hours or more.

·          But for flights that have a block time between two-and-a-half hours and five hours, the delay has to be three hours for the passenger to be eligible for refreshments. If a flight doesn’t fall into these two categories, the delay has to be of over four hours for the airline to offer refreshments.

·    (block time is the time between the departure of a flight from the gate and arrival at the destination gate).

·      Airlines need to inform passengers about flight cancellation 24 hours before the scheduled departure time. In this case, the customers should be offered either a full refund of the ticket amount or an alternative flight.

·      If the flier is not informed 24 hours before departure or she misses a connecting flight due to cancellation, the airline has to offer compensation. The compensation amount ranges between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000, depending on the block time. Also, if the passenger is already at the airport and there’s a delay, the flier should get refreshments while the staff arranges an alternative flight.

·     Diversion: In case a flight is diverted, the airline should disembark the passengers at the nearest airport and provide refreshments.

·     The airline will have no obligation to pay "compensation" if delay or cancellation happens due to circumstances beyond the control of the airline. These include political instability, natural disaster, riots, floods, government regulations, meteorological conditions, security risks and so on.

·         While the passenger can ask for a refund or alternative flight, he may not be liable to get compensation.

·      A passenger has the right to receive refund of statutory taxes, user development and passenger service fees levied by the airlines is case s/he cancels the ticket. The right to refund will be subject to the airlines internal policy in case of a foreign airline.

·      Passenger allowed Lock-in option for 24 hours(after booking ticket) in which the passenger can cancel or amend the ticket without any additional charges.

If the airline is not sticking to the norms provided in the passenger charter, the passenger needs to first complain at the airline’s help desk or email them. If she is not satisfied with the resolution provided by the airline, she can file a grievance with the ministry of civil aviation through its AirSewa portal or APP

·  The airlines will be liable to pay Rs 20 lakh in case a person dies on-board or suffers bodily injury only due to the fault of the airline.

Death due to natural causes on board has no compensation

 Passenger dies or undergoes bodily injuries onboard an aircraft: Limit of liability to be paid by the airline must be same for both international and domestic passengers

Baggage lost, delayed, or damaged: a) Limit of liability to be paid by the airline to be the same for both international and domestic passengers, and b) the minimum compensation will be as follows:Rs. 3,000 per kg for loss of baggage, Rs. 1,000 per kg for delay and Rs. 1,000 per kg for damage of baggage

·       Airlines to have seats that are designated as acceptable for persons with disabilities free of charge, which will remain blocked until close to the time of departure

·       All airports must provide the following medical facilities at the airport:

Medical doctor – available at all hours the airport is operational,

Ambulance, minimum medical support (including oxygen cylinders and defibrillators), trained medical personnel, Standard Operating Procedures to care for medical emergencies for both inbound and outbound passengers

·         Airports must provide meet-and-greet facilities for all passengers

·         Airports must provide toilets outside departure and arrival terminals

·         Airports/ airlines must provide minimum one Helpdesk for passengers

·         Airports must provide passengers with free 30-minutes Wi-Fi services

·         Airports must provide affordable F&B outlets

·         All the above rights are over and above the ones that exist currently.

·       Both domestic and international airlines are allowed to offer internet services and mobile services on-board an aircraft in Indian airspace provided certain security requirements are met:

·     Internet services can be provided from the moment a plane takes off and personal electronic devices (PED) have to be put on flight mode

·       Mobile services can be allowed only when an aircraft is over an altitude of 3,000 metres.

·    The airlines shall display their policies in regard to compensation, refunds and the facilities that will be provided by the airline in the event of denied boardings, cancellations and delays on their respective websites as part of their passenger Charter of Rights.

·      Passengers shall be fully informed by the airlines of their rights in the event of denied boarding, cancellations or delays of their flights so that they can effectively exercise their rights provided at the time of making bookings/ticketing, they have given adequate contact information to the airline or their agents.

·      The obligation of airlines to fully inform the passenger(s) shall be included in ticketing documents and websites of the airlines and concerned third parties (GDS and travel agents) issuing such documents on airlines’ behalf.

·     Airline shall display policy on their respective websites about passenger handling in the event of cancellation and delays. Airline counters at airports shall disseminate reasons of cancellation and delays to the affected passengers and attend to their grievances.

·      Each Airline shall appoint a Nodal officer and Appellate Authority to settle passenger grievances in a stipulated time frame. Airlines shall conspicuously display the details of Nodal Officer and Appellate Authority on their respective website.

·   The internal grievance mechanism of airlines shall be transparent with a provision of on line complaint handling. All complaints registered shall be issued a unique reference number.

·        Is it mandatory for all arriving international passengers to carry a COVID negative certificate?

ALL international passengers arriving must carry a COVID-19 negative certificate (issued within 72 hours from departure).

Passengers without the certificate will be mandated to undergo an RT-PCR test at Airport.   

An Air bubble is a bilateral arrangement between two countries where airlines from both countries can operate international flights with a set of regulations and restrictions.

As per the circular issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI, dated December 21, 2020, all flights to and from UK are suspended till 23.59 hours on December 31, 2020.The suspension will commence from 23.59 hours on December 22, 2020.

The below process will be undertaken upon arrival:

Ø Thermal scanning and pulse oximeter reading

Ø Verification of self-reporting form

Ø Confirmation on downloaded apps - Arogya setu app, Quarantine watch app and Apthamitra app  

Symptomatic passengers: Segregated from others and will be sent to a COVID health centre for testing.

Asymptomatic passengers: 14 days of home quarantine / submit RT-PCR negative certificate upon arrival and self-monitor their health