Air Passenger Rights in India: Refunds and Compensation for Flight Delays and Cancellations

Every air traveller in India has enforceable air passenger rights when a flight is delayed, cancelled, or when boarding is denied due to overbooking. These rights are set out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in its Civil Aviation Requirements, specifically Section 3, Series M, Part IV, which deals with the facilities airlines must provide to passengers affected by denied boarding, cancellation and delay. Knowing these rules helps you insist on the refund, rebooking or compensation you are owed instead of accepting whatever an airline offers at the counter.

Your Rights When a Flight Is Cancelled

When an airline cancels a flight, it must offer you a clear choice between a full refund of the ticket and an alternative flight to your destination at no extra cost, and the choice is yours to make rather than the airline's. If the airline has not informed you of the cancellation within the notice period prescribed in the rules and you have already reported at the airport, it must provide care such as meals and refreshments while you wait for an alternative, and compensation may also apply. The refund, where you choose it, must be returned to the original mode of payment within the timelines the DGCA prescribes. The key practical point is to refuse a unilateral rebooking you did not ask for and to record your preference in writing.

Denied Boarding Due to Overbooking

Airlines sometimes sell more seats than the aircraft holds, and when too many passengers with confirmed tickets turn up, some are denied boarding. The rules first require the airline to ask for volunteers in exchange for agreed benefits. If you are involuntarily denied boarding and the airline cannot arrange an alternative flight within one hour of the original scheduled departure, compensation becomes payable. For domestic travel, the compensation is 200 percent of the one-way fare plus the airline fuel charge, subject to a maximum of 10,000 rupees, and for longer rebooking gaps and international sectors the figures rise, up to 400 percent of the fare with a higher cap. This is in addition to your right to a refund or an alternative flight.

Delays: Meals, Accommodation and the Right to Refund

For delays, the airline must provide free meals and refreshments in proportion to the waiting time, and where a delay stretches overnight or requires a stay, hotel accommodation and transfers. If a delay becomes so prolonged that the journey no longer serves your purpose, you become entitled to a refund as though the flight were cancelled. These obligations are reduced only in extraordinary circumstances genuinely beyond the airline's control, such as certain weather or security events, but airlines must still provide care to stranded passengers. If you suffered a financial loss because of an airline's deficiency in service, you can also pursue a consumer complaint, and the principles are similar to those in our guide on how to file a complaint against an insurance company through IRDAI and the insurance ombudsman.

How to Claim and Escalate a Complaint

Start by raising the issue with the airline at the airport and in writing, quoting the relevant Civil Aviation Requirement and asking for the specific refund, rebooking or compensation. If the airline does not respond satisfactorily, escalate to its nodal and appellate grievance officers, whose details airlines must publish, and then lodge a grievance on the Government's AirSewa portal, which routes complaints to the airline and the regulator. For a deficiency in service causing loss, a consumer complaint before the appropriate consumer commission is an option, much like the process explained in how to file a motor accident claim at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. Keep your ticket, boarding pass, cancellation or delay messages, and all correspondence, as these are your evidence. The regulator has been active in penalising airlines for misleading practices, as seen in the CCPA's action against platforms for dark patterns, which signals a tougher consumer-protection environment.

It also helps to know the realistic timelines. Airlines are expected to acknowledge grievances quickly and resolve them within a defined period, and unresolved complaints can be pursued with the regulator or the consumer commission, which can award compensation for deficiency in service over and above the statutory refund. For international journeys, additional protections may flow from international conventions on carriage by air, particularly for lost or damaged baggage and long delays, so passengers on overseas sectors should preserve baggage tags and receipts alongside their flight documents.

Related Reading

If your grievance is about a bank charge linked to a cancelled booking, see how to file a complaint with the RBI Banking Ombudsman.

If your booking issue involved online fraud, read how to file a cyber crime complaint online in India.

Key Takeaways

Under DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements, Section 3, Series M, Part IV, a cancelled flight entitles you to choose between a full refund and a free alternative, denied boarding due to overbooking attracts compensation that can reach up to 20,000 rupees depending on the sector and delay, and long delays require the airline to provide meals, accommodation and, if the journey is defeated, a refund. Document everything, insist on your statutory choice, and escalate through the airline's grievance officers and the AirSewa portal if needed.