Short answer: a small spelling slip is usually fixable - a swapped passenger is not. Airlines distinguish between correcting the same traveller's name (a typo, a missing letter, a surname expanded) and changing who flies (never allowed as a 'correction'). Contact the airline as soon as you spot the error, with the booking reference and the ID you will carry; the name on the ticket must match that document, letter for letter.
Why the name matters so much. The name on your booking must match the ID you present - for Indian domestic flights, the Aadhaar or other accepted ID; for international, the passport, in full: first name, middle name if it appears in the passport, and surname exactly as printed. At the airport, a mismatch can stop you at entry, check-in or immigration, and 'it is obviously the same person' is not an argument that works. Air India states it plainly: if the name on the ID does not match the booking, you may not be permitted to board.
What airlines will correct. Genuine minor errors: a letter or two wrong or transposed ('Sarika' booked as 'Sarikha'), a missing middle name, an expanded initial, a title like Mr/Ms wrong, or first and last name swapped in the booking fields. Airlines handle these as name corrections - Air India, for example, accepts name corrections on a ticketed booking before travel through its customer support, and notes that charges may apply. Correction policies and fees differ by airline and sometimes by how close to departure you are, so the one safe rule is to ask immediately, not at the airport.
What they will not do. Replace one traveller with another. A ticket is issued to a person, not a seat, and 'correcting' Ramesh Kumar into Suresh Kumar is a new booking, not a fix. If the wrong person was booked, expect to cancel and rebook at whatever fare exists today - which is why names deserve a slow, careful check at the payment screen, especially when one person books for the whole family.
How to get it fixed. If you booked directly with the airline, use its manage-booking page or customer support - Air India routes name corrections through its support portal, and other airlines have similar channels. If you booked through an agent or online travel site, start with them; they hold the booking and must request the change from the airline, which adds a day or two. Keep the booking reference (PNR) and a photo of the ID ready, get the correction confirmed in writing, and re-check the updated ticket - do not assume it was done.
Special cases Indian families hit. The one-name problem: many Indians have a single name, and booking forms demand first and last - airlines generally accept the single name in the surname field with FNU (first name unknown) or repeated, but the airline must set it correctly, so call them rather than improvising. After-marriage surname changes: book in the name on the passport you will carry, even if the new passport is still being processed. And for infants and children, the same matching rule applies - a child's nickname in the booking and a formal name in the passport is a correction you want done early, not at 4 AM at T3.
How TripKeeper prevents the 4 AM problem. When our team books flights for a trip, names are entered from the passports, not from memory, and every confirmation is re-read against the documents before it reaches you. If a ticket you booked yourself has a name worry, fix it now - and if you want a trip where someone else sweats these details, send a trip-planning inquiry.
A Miranda House graduate and lawyer who traded courtrooms for slow travel. Cheshta travels with the batches we host ourselves, with a soft spot for travelling alongside elders.
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