NEW DELHI: Soon, airlines may not get any emergency exit from the requirement of providing legally mandated assistance to people whose flights are delayed/cancelled or who have been involuntarily denied boarding.
Following some recent cases, where some players did not do so, the government has decided to review the existing DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) rules to make them more passenger-friendly.IndiGo allegedly deceives Chennai bound passengers at Bengaluru airport, forcing them off plane due to low numbersAirlines are supposed to compensate affected passengers and/or give them hotel accommodation along with a full refund or an alternative flight as per the latters choice when flights are suddenly delayed or cancelled without prior information, except when the same happens due to factors beyond their (airlines) control.We are examining if the existing provisions have clause/s that enable airlines to sometimes not follow them.
We plan to remove that and simplify the rules.
Ample publicity will be given to the same by displaying them at airports so that passengers know exactly what their rights and duties are as a consumer (important due to the large number of first-time flyers daily), said a senior aviation ministry official.The trigger for this proposed change was some IndiGo passengers recently not being flown to their destination from Bengaluru as per their original booking.TOI had on Wednesday (November 22) carried an edit titled: IndiNoGo Flight: Why eight debarred passengers at Bengaluru airport raise big questions on consumer rights - for DGCA.Since 2020, the emphasis has been on ensuring airlines somehow fly out of Covids severe turbulence.
Now as India has two well-capitalised big airlines IndiGo and Tata Groups Air India and domestic air traffic has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, consumer interest is back in focus.