According to a statement from the aviation authority, domestic and international airlines may soon be compelled to refund the whole ticket price and offer free travel for every customer they downgrade from business or premium economy to economy seats.
The proposal is being made at a time during which there have been numerous complaints about airlines like Air India dropping travelers to lower class seats than the one they bought tickets for due to problems like unusable seats.
Before changing a provision of Civil Aviation Regulations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will seek feedback from interested parties on its new proposal.
It has been observed that occasionally airlines downgrade passenger tickets due to the rapid expansion of air services as well as the increase in the number of passenger traffic both inside India and on foreign routes.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Arun Kumar said that they are updating Civil Aviation Regulations to safeguard aviation travelers’ rights to address such circumstances.
Airlines are against this new proposal stating that the new guideline is far stricter than established international standards. According to the Department of Transportation’s website, a passenger is only eligible for compensation for the change in the value of the tickets between the two seats.
