Flight disrupted in India? Get up to ₹20,000 in compensation.
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₹20,000 is the denied-boarding ceiling; other disruptions have different rights.
Coverage
India — DGCA Passenger Rights
Eligibility depends on the facts of the journey you submit.
Quick answer
Could your flight qualify?
You may qualify for compensation after a qualifying short-notice cancellation, involuntary overbooking or certain same-ticket missed connections. India's DGCA rules also require assistance for some delays, but they do not promise a fixed cash payment merely because a flight is late. The airline, notice, alternative travel and circumstances matter.
On this page
Passenger rights
Which flights can be covered?
The DGCA's passenger-facilities rules apply to relevant scheduled and non-scheduled services, including foreign airlines operating flights to or from India. The obligation generally rests with the airline actually operating the affected flight.
Qualifying flights within India are covered by DGCA passenger-facilities rules.
Relevant international flights to or from India, including foreign-operated services, can fall within the framework.
The operating carrier, rather than the airline selling the ticket alone, is essential to the assessment.
For a journey involving other countries, another applicable passenger-rights regime may also need to be assessed.
Flight disruptions
What types of disruption may qualify?
Delayed flight
Meals, refreshments, alternative travel, a refund or hotel assistance can apply at relevant waiting-time thresholds. There is no standalone cash-delay entitlement under Travaro's locked India rule seed.
Cancelled flight
Notice and acceptable alternative travel matter. Qualifying airline-controlled short-notice cancellations can lead to capped compensation; refund or rerouting rights can apply more broadly.
Denied boarding
Involuntary overbooking with a confirmed booking can trigger 200% or 400% of the statutory fare basis within INR 10,000 or INR 20,000 caps, depending on alternative travel.
Missed connection
A connection missed on the same ticket following an airline-related disruption can be relevant under the cancellation provisions. An acceptable replacement flight and the cause matter.
Compensation
How much compensation could you receive?
India does not have one fixed cash payout for every disruption. Qualifying cancellation and missed-connection compensation is capped by block time; involuntary denied boarding uses a fare-based percentage subject to statutory caps. Delay assistance is separate from cash compensation.
Qualifying cancellation or missed connection
Where the DGCA's compensation conditions are met and no acceptable alternative flight is provided, the maximum depends on the original flight's scheduled block time. The actual amount is the lower of the stated cap and the booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge.
- Scheduled block time
- Up to and including 1 hour
- Compensation limit
- Up to INR 5,000
- Scheduled block time
- More than 1 hour, up to 2 hours
- Compensation limit
- Up to INR 7,500
- Scheduled block time
- More than 2 hours
- Compensation limit
- Up to INR 10,000
| Scheduled block time | Compensation limit |
|---|---|
| Up to and including 1 hour | Up to INR 5,000 |
| More than 1 hour, up to 2 hours | Up to INR 7,500 |
| More than 2 hours | Up to INR 10,000 |
Involuntary denied boarding
For qualifying overbooking, the compensation basis is the booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to a statutory cap. Connected journeys have additional final-arrival conditions.
- Alternative travel
- Alternative departs within 1 hour
- Compensation
- No statutory cash compensation
- Alternative travel
- Alternative departs after 1 hour, within 24 hours
- Compensation
- 200% of fare basis, up to INR 10,000
- Alternative travel
- Alternative departs after 24 hours
- Compensation
- 400% of fare basis, up to INR 20,000
- Alternative travel
- Passenger declines the alternative
- Compensation
- Full ticket refund plus 400% of fare basis, up to INR 20,000
| Alternative travel | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Alternative departs within 1 hour | No statutory cash compensation |
| Alternative departs after 1 hour, within 24 hours | 200% of fare basis, up to INR 10,000 |
| Alternative departs after 24 hours | 400% of fare basis, up to INR 20,000 |
| Passenger declines the alternative | Full ticket refund plus 400% of fare basis, up to INR 20,000 |
The DGCA's compensation basis uses the booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, not automatically the full ticket price. Caps are maximums, not guaranteed awards. Travaro's approved India rule seed decides whether a cash-compensation assessment proceeds.
Eligibility
What determines whether compensation applies?
Whether a cash compensation claim may proceed depends on the disruption type, notice, operating airline, alternative travel and cause.
Delay assistance is not a cash award
Meals, refund or alternative flight and accommodation may be required at relevant delay thresholds, but a delay alone is not a standalone cash-compensation claim in Travaro's India seed.
Cancellation notice and alternative flights matter
For Travaro's India cancellation compensation check, fewer than 24 hours' notice, lack of an accepted alternative and an airline-controlled cause are relevant. Wider DGCA refund or rerouting rights are separate.
Denied boarding depends on the replacement
The alternative flight's departure time determines the 1-hour and 24-hour compensation bands. Connected journeys can additionally depend on a final arrival delay of at least three hours.
Missed connections need the original booking
The DGCA cancellation provisions can apply to a missed connection on the same ticket in qualifying circumstances. Separate tickets and partner-operated legs need their own assessment.
Cash compensation has fare and rupee limits
The booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge and the relevant statutory ceiling determine the upper limit; a published headline figure is not an automatic payout.
Important conditions
When compensation may not apply
Not every delayed or disrupted flight produces statutory cash compensation under India's rules. Other assistance rights may still exist.
A delay alone has no standalone India cash-compensation pathway in Travaro's locked rule seed.
For the approved cancellation and missed-connection assessment, an acceptable replacement flight or sufficient advance notice can remove the cash-compensation outcome.
Events genuinely beyond the airline's control, including relevant weather, air traffic or security circumstances, may remove compensation obligations.
Voluntary seat surrender, failure to meet check-in/document requirements or legitimate health and security refusals are treated differently from involuntary overbooking.
Connecting journeys
A connected journey needs its booking and operator checked
India's DGCA cancellation provisions address certain missed connections on the same ticket. The original disrupted flight, whether a replacement was accepted, the cause and the responsible operating airline must be assessed before a cash entitlement is suggested.
Before you claim
What should you keep?
Keep documents that show both what you booked and what happened after the disruption.
Booking confirmation, full itinerary and ticket number for any connection.
Boarding passes, check-in evidence and airline messages about the disruption or alternative flight.
Fare information, especially the booked one-way basic fare and airline fuel charge if shown.
Receipts for meals, hotel accommodation or transport when relevant.
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