India’s aviation regulator has been at the forefront of customer-friendly updates for a while now. For instance, they proposed a 24-hour free cancellation period in 2018, and it was implemented shortly after. The DGCA just made its practices even more pro-customer, taking some things away from the airlines and giving them to customers. Now, there are even more changes.
DGCA notifies updated pro-customer rules towards air travel
Picking up on a discussion paper they floated in November 2025, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has revised its framework governing airline ticket refunds and cancellations. The amendments formalise timelines, introduce a defined cancellation window, and tighten compliance expectations across distribution channels. The new rules come into force on March 26, 2026.
48-hour look in window instead of earlier 24 hours
The most consequential change is the introduction of a 48-hour post-booking cancellation window. Under the revised mandate, passengers may cancel or amend bookings within 48 hours of purchase without incurring cancellation charges, provided the departure date meets the minimum advance purchase thresholds. For domestic travel, the departure must be at least seven days from the date of booking. For international travel, the minimum lead time is fifteen days.
This provision effectively introduces a regulatory cooling-off period into the Indian aviation market. Previously, cancellation penalties were largely governed by airline-specific fare rules, often resulting in immediate financial consequences even when bookings were reversed shortly after purchase. The new rule standardises early-stage flexibility across carriers, reducing variability in consumer outcomes.
The mandate also clarifies how fare differences are treated during modifications. While cancellation penalties are waived within the 48-hour window, airlines may collect any applicable fare differential where a passenger chooses to move to a higher-priced flight. This distinction preserves revenue management integrity while limiting purely punitive charges.
For one, this is even more liberal than the US of A.
Refund Timelines Tightened
In parallel, the DGCA has tightened refund timelines. Airlines are required to process refunds within 14 working days of cancellation, irrespective of whether the booking was made directly through the airline or via an online travel agency or other intermediary. This provision addresses a longstanding ambiguity in practice, in which airlines and agents frequently attributed refund delays to one another. The revised framework places primary accountability on the carrier to ensure they will get the job done.
Not just that, airlines cannot impose a credit shell on the customer; the customer can choose to take it willingly, though. All statutory taxes, including UDF, ADF and PSF, must be refunded in case of cancellation, non-utilisation or no show, even for non-refundable and promo fares. In this regard, the cancellation charge cannot exceed the basic fare plus fuel surcharge, excluding agent fees disclosed at booking.
Name spelling mistakes need to be fixed quickly
The regulator has also addressed minor name correction disputes. Typographical errors identified within 24 hours of booking, when tickets are purchased directly through an airline’s official channel, are not to attract additional fees. This intervention targets a narrow but recurrent category of passenger grievances that previously generated disproportionate costs relative to the administrative effort involved.
Collectively, these changes represent a calibrated regulatory intervention rather than a sweeping consumer protection overhaul. The DGCA has not capped cancellation fees beyond the initial 48-hour window, nor has it altered the underlying fare class structures that differentiate refundable and non-refundable inventory. Instead, it has introduced procedural safeguards at the point of purchase and at the refund stage.
For airlines, the operational implications are contained but non-trivial. Reservation systems, agency interfaces and internal refund processing workflows must now align with statutory deadlines. Revenue leakage from short-term speculative bookings is a theoretical risk, though advance purchase thresholds mitigate abuse of last-minute inventory.
For passengers, the practical impact is straightforward. Booking errors, duplicate reservations and changes of mind within two days of purchase will no longer automatically trigger financial penalties, provided travel dates fall outside the defined minimum windows.
Bottomline
The DGCA has inserted a defined layer of predictability into Indian airlines’ refund regime. Whether this translates into measurable improvements in grievance volumes will depend less on the rule itself and more on enforcement consistency. For now, there is a longer look-in period, and the onus is on the airline to make sure the refund goes to the customer, whether they booked directly or via any sort of agency.
What do you think of the new changes to the refund guidelines issued by the DGCA?
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