What are your rights as an air passenger? What can passengers of flight AI 183 do? MC Explains

The Air India flight to San Francisco was delayed by nearly a day inconveniencing passengers gravely

Passengers of a New Delhi-San Francisco Air India flight faced a harrowing time due to an inordinate delay and some of them even fainted because the aircraft's air-conditioning system was non-functional.

Flight AI 183, which was to depart from Delhi at 1530 IST on May 30, was delayed for more than 20 hours due to a technical issue with the aircraft and was rescheduled to take off at 1500 IST on May 31.

The civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to Air India on May 31.

There were about 200 passengers onboard the Boeing 777 aircraft.

At first, the aircraft was changed due to a technical glitch and the passengers boarded another plane, wherein the air-conditioning system was not working and as a result, some of those onboard fainted, said Shipa Jain, a passenger.

Several posts about the flight delay and pictures of waiting passengers lying on the floor at Delhi airport surfaced on social media.

The Air India flight to San Francisco was delayed by nearly a day, inconveniencing passengers. (Image: @shwwetapunj/X)

“If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is @airindia @DGCAIndia AI 183 flight has been delayed for over 8 hours, passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman! @JM_Scindia,” Shweta Punj, a journalist with Moneycontrol, said in a post on X on May 30.

What happens in such cases and what are your rights as a passenger?

The civil aviation ministry released a charter in August 2019 on the rights of passengers flying within the country. Here's what customers - including those of AI 183 - are entitled to and how they can claim compensation.

According to the DGCA, if a flight is delayed by over six hours, the airline must communicate the rescheduled time more than 24 hours before the original departure time and provide flyers either a full refund or an alternative flight.

In case of a delay of over 24 hours, passengers should be offered free hotel accommodation.

Air India passengers bound for San Francisco waiting at Delhi airport

Customers should also be offered free stay if a flight was scheduled to depart between 8 pm and 3 am and is delayed for over six hours.

Airlines need to offer meals and refreshments to passengers in case of delays beyond a certain period, depending on the 'block time' of each flight. Block time is the time between the departure of a flight from the gate and arrival at the destination gate.

If a flight has a block time of two-and-a-half hours, customers are entitled to refreshments if the delay is for two hours.

For flights with a block time of between two-and-a-half hours and five hours, the delay has to be three hours for passengers to be eligible for refreshments.

If a flight doesn’t fall into these two categories, the delay has to be over four hours for the airline to offer refreshments.

Also Read: How to get maximum refund for delayed or cancelled flights

Cancelled flights 

Cancelled flights can play havoc with travel plans, so under ordinary circumstances, airlines are meant to inform you about the cancellation a minimum of two weeks before the scheduled departure. At the same time, the airlines should arrange another flight for passengers or offer them a refund.

According to the DGCA website, the airline must give a full refund of the amount or offer an alternative flight if it informs passengers about a flight cancellation less than two weeks and at least 24 hours before departure.

Air India passengers bound for San Francisco waiting at Delhi airport

If the airline fails to inform the passenger at least 24 hours before departure, or if they miss a connecting flight booked on the same ticket number because of the cancellation, then it has to pay compensation ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to the passenger.

If cash was paid to buy the ticket, the airline has to refund the money immediately. If a credit card was used, the money must be refunded within seven days.

For bookings made via a travel agent, approach the agent. The refund includes passenger services fee, airport development fee/user development fee and service tax. You can either take the refund or use it to travel on another date.

Also Read: Airlines may soon have to refund in full to passengers if shifted to lower class

Denied boarding 

Sometimes, passengers are denied boarding due to overbooking, which occasionally happens to reduce the possibility of taking off with unoccupied seats. In such cases, the airline is liable to offer compensation only when it is unable to put you on an alternative flight scheduled to leave within one hour of the original departure time.

The DGCA also clarified the amount of compensation to be paid if a passenger is denied boarding despite holding a valid ticket and an alternative flight is not arranged within an hour.

If the alternative flight is arranged within 24 hours of the original flight’s departure, up to Rs. 10,000 has to be paid as compensation by the airline. If the alternative flight is beyond 24 hours of the original departure, an amount up to Rs. 20,000 has to be paid as compensation.

Air India passengers bound for San Francisco waiting at Delhi airport

Downgraded to a lower class 

The DGCA said in December 2022 that it will soon come up with guidelines asking airlines to issue full refunds to passengers who are downgraded to a lower class. The proposal is going through stakeholder consultation before the final regulation is published. It is open for public consultation for 30 days.

According to the proposal, airlines need to carry a passenger downgraded to a lower class in the next available class for free. These rules will apply to all airlines that operate to and from India.

Remedies for boarding denial or flight cancellations and delays 

Airlines in India follow DGCA guidelines for processing compensation claims that are the result of cancellations and delays. You can claim compensation by taking the matter up with the nodal officer of the airline concerned.

However, passengers need to claim refunds for being denied boarding within a month. When filing their claim, customers must upload all necessary documents required by the airline to avoid complications.

These include your contact details, number of the credit card used to buy the ticket, ticket number, flight number, date of travel and billing address. If the issue is unresolved by the nodal officer, the issue can be taken up with the airline’s appellate authority.

If you are struggling to file the claim on your own, companies such as RefundMe can help. If you aren’t sure how your airline handles claims, visit their official website for details.

The AirSewa portal of the ministry of civil aviation provides a system for online reporting and tracking of grievances concerning airports, flights and other air travel-related matters. By registering as a user on the AirSewa portal, anyone can file and track action being taken on their grievances.

How much compensation can a customer claim? 

If the airline fails to inform you about a cancellation within the minimum of two weeks in advance, the airline should compensate you. The amount depends on the travel provider you have booked with - whether it is the airline or an online travel agent.

According to the DGCA, customers can claim a refund of up to Rs 5,000 or a one-way basic fare plus fuel charge, whichever is lower, if the flight has a block time of up to and including one hour; Rs 7,500 or a one-way basic fare plus fuel charge, whichever is lower, if the flight has a block time of more than one hour and up to and including two hours; or Rs 10,000 or a one-way basic fare plus fuel charge, whichever is less, if the flight has a block time of more than two hours.

According to the DGCA, the airline also has to provide free meals and refreshments while you wait for your alternative flight, but this is only if you have already reported for your original flight.

If you have been informed of the change less than six hours before the departure time, the airline will be responsible for getting you to a different airport or terminal in case the alternative flight requires that.

Financial compensation is paid only if you provided adequate contact information at the time of booking.