Short answer: when the last flight of your trip is cancelled, go to the airline first and ask for an alternate flight or a refund. Do not buy a new ticket until you have heard what the airline offers. Keep proof of when you were told, because that affects what you can claim.
What the rules say. India's aviation regulator DGCA sets passenger facilities in its Civil Aviation Requirement on denied boarding, cancellation and delay (Section 3, Series M, Part IV). The Press Information Bureau summarises it: for a cancellation the airline shall provide an alternate flight or a refund. The Indian Express explains that compensation depends on when the airline told you, and that missing a connecting flight booked on the same ticket number is treated differently from separate tickets. Adhiwakta's guide gives the notice bands (two weeks, 24 hours). We do not quote amounts here, because they change. Read the current CAR or the airline's page before you claim.
What to do, in order.
- Ask the airline at the airport or on its help line: request the next alternate flight to your destination, or a refund you accept. Ask which of the two they recommend and whether the offer is in writing.
- Note the facts: the time you were told, how you were told (SMS, email, announcement, staff), the flight number, booking reference and ticket number.
- Check the ticket: are all flights on one ticket number? If the cancelled leg shares a ticket with the earlier flights, the airline that issued the ticket is the one to ask.
- Look at the ground plan: if you will arrive much later, tell whoever is meeting you or holding your hotel booking, and ask the hotel about late arrival.
- Keep receipts for anything you pay, in case you later claim it.
Alternate flight or refund. An alternate flight keeps your plan. A refund lets you choose another airline or another mode. Decide by the arrival time you need, and compare an alternative's price before you accept the refund. If you take the refund, the ticket ends and you must buy a new one.
If the airline is slow. Use the airline's written complaint route and, if needed, the government's air passenger channels. Keep your written record.
For your own trips. If a cancellation has left a family trip in pieces, send us a trip-planning inquiry and we will help you replan the legs.
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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