The chaos that Gurunandan witnessed that day was, however, not restricted to Udaipur airport alone. Such chaotic scenes were witnessed at Delhi and some other airports in north India. Several flights were delayed or cancelled due to extreme fog conditions not just that day but also on several other days in January.
Gurunandan was stuck at the Udaipur airport for nearly nine hours. At 8 pm, he, along with about a hundred other passengers, were informed by the airline staff that they had the option to either cancel their flight ticket and get a refund or board another flight the next afternoon. The 71-year-old chose the latter to save the hassle of finding and booking another flight. That, however, was not the end of his problems. He had to find food and accommodation away from the airport. The airline refused to get involved.
“We were offered just a packet of cookies in the name of refreshments. Between 11.30am and 8pm, we should have been served both lunch and dinner,” Gurunandan said.
Gurunandan is right. As per the Passenger Charter issued by India’s aviation ministry, all passengers should be offered free meals and refreshments if a flight is delayed beyond 2-4 hours, depending on its block time. Block time is the total time a flight takes from the time it starts moving from the departure gate to its arrival at the destination gate.
Meanwhile, Gurunandan and four of his relatives had to shell out about ₹38,000 in meals, hotel stay and cab fare for travelling from the airport to the hotel and back. “After making us wait for nine hours, the airline left senior citizens like me, families with toddlers, and people on wheelchairs in the lurch, instead of providing us accommodation,” said Gurunandan, who was distressed by the turn of events.
In response to queries sent by Mint, a Vistara spokesperson said an alternate aircraft was arranged for the journey on the same day with all passengers. However, Gurunandan claimed that he and his relatives were not informed about this and only given the option to cancel or take a flight the next day.
Gurunandan’s plight is shared by millions of passengers every year when flights are either delayed or cancelled by airlines. In 2023, about 2.56 million passengers were affected by flight delays and cancellations, as per data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In December 2023 alone, about 400,000 passengers were affected, the highest that year. Weather conditions topped the reasons for most cancellations.
The months of December and January witness maximum flight delays and cancellation each year due to fog. Since it’s a recurring phenomenon, the airlines are expected to be prepared for it but airports continue to witness chaotic scenes every year, a senior pilot, who has been flying for nearly eight years, told Mint. “Part of the problem is the lack of proper training given to crew and ground staff to handle such situations. Passenger traffic is growing in leaps and bounds and the airlines are not training the staff properly in their hurry to recruit fast ,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
What’s the recourse?
The Passenger Charter lays out the rights of airline passengers. When a flight is cancelled, whether in advance or after the passengers have arrived at the airport, it is mandatory for the airline to give passengers a written notice stating all the rules for compensation and assistance. The passengers can demand this notice from the check-in counter in the case of flight delays. However, in reality, most airlines don’t put this into practice. So, it would do well to know your rights as a customer.
The Passenger Charter has directions on how passengers should be compensated in various scenarios like flight delays, cancellations, over-booking, diversion and baggage loss, delay or damage, among other things.
Flight delays
When a flight is expected to be delayed beyond six hours, the rescheduled time should be communicated to the passengers at least 24 hours prior to departure and the passengers should either be given alternative flight within six hours of the original time of departure or a full refund. But, what if the flight is delayed by more than six hours after a passenger has checked-in? The passengers are given refreshments when the delay is up to 23 hours. After 24 hours of delay, the passengers are entitled for free hotel accommodation. For flights scheduled to depart between 8pm and 3am, free accommodation is given when the delay is for more than 6 hours.
Cancellations
The airline has to inform passengers of cancellation up to 24 hours before the departure date with the option of an alternate flight or a full refund. If it fails to do so or you miss a connecting flight due to the airline’s fault, it is liable to give monetary compensation to the passengers over and above full refund or an alternate flight. The compensation is ₹5,000, ₹7,500 and ₹10,000 for flights with block time of up to one hour, between one and two hours and over two hours, respectively.
Cancellation charges
A refundable ticket may not mean that you will get the full amount for cancelling a flight. Air ticket fare has several components, so you must check the refund money that is admissible. Do ensure that the airline is not deducting any undue charges. For instance, the airline has to refund any statutory taxes, user development fee, airport development fee and passenger service fee.
Baggage complaints: In the case of baggage loss, delay or damage, the passenger is entitled to compensation of up to ₹20,000 for domestic flights and 1,131 SDR ( ₹1.26 lakh after conversion into rupee) in the case of international flights. SDR stands for Special Drawing Rights and it is the international monetary fund’s unit of accounting. Unlike cases of cancellation or delays, airlines do not generally compensate for baggage related issues unless the passenger claims it. So, ensure that you lodge a complaint and ask for fair compensation.
Though these rules are well intentioned, a special clause in the charter may make it difficult for passengers to get fair compensation for delays or cancellations caused by adverse weather conditions like fog. It says that the airline is not liable to pay any compensation in respect of delays or cancellations caused by factors that are beyond the control of the airline. In such cases, a travel insurance helps.
Travel insurance
When you book a flight ticket through an online travel aggregator (OTA), you will most likely get an option to buy insurance at the time of checkout. This costs ₹200 or less per person and will come in handy in case of delays, cancellations and missed connecting flights.
The policy pays a flat predetermined benefit on delay by the stipulated number of hours mentioned in the policy. “Typically, the insurer doesn’t ask for any bills or proof of expenses and pays a flat benefit. The customer only needs to upload the boarding pass and furnish bank account details to facilitate swift processing of the claim,” said Vivek Chaturvedi, CMO and head of direct sales, Digit General Insurance. “This benefit is typically paid out to compensate for any discretionary spending one may undertake in an airport due to the extra time spent there.”
For cancelled flights, the sum insured can be claimed when the flight is cancelled by the airline and it doesn’t provide an alternative. “Trip cancellation coverage also safeguards you in case there is a need to cancel your trip due to reasons like illness, injury or specific emergencies,” said Chaturvedi. The coverage can vary from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000 on different policies.
While buying the policy, make sure that it has coverage for delays, missed connections, baggage loss or delay and cancellation. Chaturvedi said one should look for an insurance policy that includes 24/7 travel assistance service so that any travel-related issues can be addressed in a timely manner.
It is best to buy a travel policy especially for travel dates in December or January as flight delays are inevitable during this time.
