By IANS,
New Delhi: India’s commercial aviation regulator Monday invited people’s suggestions to fine tune the norms governing the compensation paid to passengers by airlines due to delayed flights, cancellations and denial of boarding cards despite holding valid tickets.
Public response has been invited to re-cast what is called the civil aviation rule to strengthen the rights of the passengers and to ensure that the airlines operate under harmonized conditions.
Such protections shall be provided to passengers travelling not only on scheduled flights but also on non-scheduled flights, said a statement from the civil aviation ministry.
The compensation to passengers will be paid as per an international agreement, the Montreal Convention, to which India is a signatory, but would not be applicable in cases where the delay or cancellation happened under circumstances on which the airline had no control.
In instances where the delay or cancellation happened due to some natural disaster, any kind of civil disturbance, government order, or due to delays attributable to the Air Traffic Control, the airline could not be held responsible.
“The compensation shall be paid in cash, by bank transfer or with the signed agreement of the passenger in the form of travel vouchers, which must be paid within a stipulated time frame,” said the statement.