Slash Rs 3,000 Cancellation Fee, It’s Too High: Govt to Airlines

“The Rs 3,000 fee is, in many cases, more than the price of the ticket itself,” said Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha

The government has asked airlines to rollback Rs 3,000 cancellation fee, reported The Times of India. The report said that according to the government, Rs 3,000 is too high a cancellation fee to be charged by a few domestic airlines and should be rolled back. The government is soon going to ask the airlines to reduce the cancellation fee to a reasonable amount.

We believe the cancellation charges are on the higher side, and onerous for passengers. The Rs 3,000 fee is, in many cases, more than the price of the ticket itself. Our UDAN (subsidised regional flying) scheme has capped fares at Rs 2,500 per hour of flying. These cancellation charges need to be brought back into balance.

Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha told TOI.

Sinha ordered a fee review after the recent hike in cancellation charges brought to effect by a few airlines. TOI reported travel experts are of the idea that people might be hesitant to buy tickets early to purchase them at a low price because of the exorbitant charges.

When one buys a ticket at low fares months in advance, there is always a possibility that it may need to be cancelled for some reason. If cancellation charges are as high as they are here, it is a deterrent to buying early, (and) thereby makes people buy tickets closer to the date of travel at higher fares.

A travel agent told TOI.

The report also pointed out other things such as check-in baggage fee on domestic flight, for which the airlines have been increasing charges. According to the report, Sinha is also planning a "passenger bill of rights" (PBOR) to specify the rights and duties of flyers. Sinha told TOI that the document will be "robust and balanced to protect consumer rights."

India has seen a doubling of air travellers in the last 3.5 years, a growth rate that has not been witnessed anywhere globally. Many are first-time flyers who need to be made aware of their rights and duties.For this, we are preparing the PBOR by looking at best practices globally.

Jayant Sinha told TOI.

The report says the bill of right could also come up with a compensation for consumer if there is a deficiency in service by the airlines.

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