The government order directing airlines to refund only those tickets that were booked during the lockdown period leaves out the vast majority of passengers who had booked tickets before the flights were banned.
Such passengers will have to be content with credit notes issued by different airlines, though this violates the refund rules of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
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As large-scale flight cancellations became the norm in the days leading up to the ban on flights, airlines offered credit shells to passengers. SpiceJet says these will be valid till February 28, 2021, IndiGo’s credit notes can be redeemed until a year after they were issued and Vistara’s and GoAir’s till December 30.
It may seem the money is safe with the airlines, but the fallout of the collapse of Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airways is still fresh in the minds of thousands of passengers who had lost their money paid for tickets on flights that never took off. The financial health of most Indian carriers today, except IndiGo, does not inspire much confidence.
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The order issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation requires airlines to refund money within 30 days for tickets booked during the first lockdown period (March 25-April 14) for travel during the second lockdown period (April 15-May 3). Airlines themselves have said bookings during this short period were minuscule, which means this will benefit only a small number of passengers. By restricting its order to these dates, the government has essentially allowed airlines to deny passengers refunds for tickets booked before March 25, though it is a violation of the DGCA’s rules.
The Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) states, “The option of holding the refund amount in credit shell by the airlines shall be the prerogative of the passenger and not a default practice of the airline.”
The government directive is flawed on several counts, including allowing the airlines 30 days after receiving a passenger’s request for a refund, when the CAR requires the airlines to refund on the same day in case of a cash transaction and seven days for credit card purchases. Only if a passenger booked a ticket on a travel portal could the airlines take 30 days. Moreover, there is no need for a passenger to request a refund because it is the duty of the airlines to start the process immediately after a flight cancellation.
Aviation consultancy CAPA posted on Twitter on Friday: “The circular should clearly state that the DGCA is temporarily suspending — with the period of time to be defined — the provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirement on the refund of airline tickets (dated 22-May-2008), as well as the Passenger Charter of 2019. If these rights have been suspended due to emergency conditions prevailing, this should be formally notified by the DGCA.”
Asked whether the government was likely to amend the CAR or suspend it temporarily to ensure that its order complied with the rules, a senior official said, “The CAR is for normal circumstances. What we are dealing with is an extraordinary situation. There is no need to issue an amendment. The DGCA is empowered to overrule regulations, if needed.” Again, the rules require that if a CAR is being amended, the DGCA must first issue a draft and put it out for consultation for 30 days.
