The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday (07 Oct 2020) issues a circular for a refund of cancelled air tickets during the Covid-19 lockdown after the Supreme Court recently decided on the issue.
The aviation regulatory has categorized the passengers in three categories whose tickets were cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown in the country.
1st Category - Passenger who booked tickets during lockdown for travel during lockdown from 25 March 25,2020, to May 24: If an airline has received payment from such a passenger for either domestic or international travel, it “shall refund the full amount collected without any cancellation charges … within three weeks from the date of cancellation,” the DGCA order says.
2nd Category - Passengers who booked tickets any time prior to lockdown for the journey up to May 24, 2020, and flight cancelled due to Covid-19.
Airlines shall make all endeavors to refund the collected amount to the passenger within 15 days from October 7, 2020. If on account of financial distress, any airline/airlines are not able to do so, they shall provide credit shell, equal to the amount of fare collected, in the name of the passenger when the booking is done either directly by the passenger or through a travel agent so as to consume (utilize) the same on or before March 31, 2021,… on any route of (their) choice or the passenger can transfer the credit shell to any person including the travel agent through whom he/she has booked the ticket and the airlines shall honor such a transfer,” the order says.
3rd Category - Passengers who booked ticket anytime for journey after May, 24, 2020: Normal refund rules as per applicable civil aviation requirements (rules) of DGCA will apply to category 3 passengers whether domestic or ex-India International.
Flexible credit shell - If the tickets have been booked during the first two lockdown periods, a full refund shall be given by the airlines immediately because they were not supposed to book such tickets. This was also mandated in the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s circular of 16 April 2020, the DGCA stated. It also submitted that the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 16 April order was issued primarily to make sure airlines can’t take the shelter of lockdown to deny the refund, and secondly, to give a little extended time to the airlines to refund the fares as no operations were being allowed at that time.
For all other cases, the airlines shall make all endeavors to refund the collected amount to the passenger within 15 days. If on account of financial distress, the airlines are unable to do so, they shall provide a credit shell equal to the amount of fare collected. This credit shell shall be issued in the name of the passengers who can avail it up to 31 March 2021 on any route of their choice. If the passengers want to buy a ticket of value more than the credit shell, they can use cash to top it up. And in case the value is less than the credit shell, the balance amount of the credit shell shall be available to them. “The credit shell shall also be transferable. The passenger can transfer the credit shell to any person, and the airlines shall honor such a transfer. The airlines shall devise a mechanism to facilitate such a transfer,” reads the affidavit. The stipulations suggest that the travel agents shall be entitled for their usual fees, service charges and commission.
Non-refund may prove counterproductive - According to the DGCA, the existing legal regime for the aviation sector is governed by Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) that recognize the rights of air passengers to seek a refund of their tickets. CAR protects the interest of air passengers so action can be initiated accordingly in case of a violation. Violations are treated as a deficiency of service and entitles a passenger to approach an appropriate legal forum for remedy. However, considering the concerns highlighted by the airlines, the DGCA said it was of bonafide belief that enforcement action for violation of CAR provisions can result in reduction of approved schedule for the airlines, which due to Covid-19 situation are already operating in a limited capacity.
“Under such complex circumstances initiating enforcement action against the airlines may not yield any meaningful result for any stakeholder rather may prove counterproductive for each stakeholder and thereby may be against the Indian Aviation as a whole,” DGCA submitted.
FOR LATEST UPADATES ON TRAVEL, AVIATION & HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Follow us on Instagram: Follow us
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasperTrips
Source: DGCA, The Print & Travelobiz.
Comments
Post a Comment