NEW DELHI: Soon, airlines may no longer be able to impose high ticket-cancellation charges on flyers. The government believes the Rs 3,000 cancellation fee charged by a few airlines on domestic tickets is too high and needs to be rolled back. It will soon speak to airlines on the issue and ask them to reduce the fee to a reasonable amount.

“We believe cancellation charges are on the high side and onerous for passengers. The Rs 3,000 fee is in many cases more than the price of the ticket itself. Our UDAN (subsidised regional flying) scheme has capped fares at Rs 2,500 per hour of flying. These cancellation charges need to be brought back into balance,” aviation minister Jayant Sinha told TOI.

Sinha has ordered a review of the exorbitant amount charged by airlines. The move follows the recent hike in cancellation charges effected by some airlines. Such high charges, say travel experts, could prevent people from booking tickets early to get low fares, which has so far been the mantra for air passengers.

“When one buys a ticket at low fares months in advance, there is always a possibility that it may need to be cancelled for some reason. If cancellation charges are as high as they are here, it is a deterrent to buying early, (and) thereby makes people buy tickets closer to the date of travel at higher fares,” said a travel agent.

Apart from cancellation fees, airlines have been steadily hiking charges for many other things, for example, carrying check-in baggage over 15kg on domestic flights. Meanwhile, Sinha is also working on a “passenger bill of rights” (PBOR) that will clearly spell out the rights and duties of flyers.

“India has seen a doubling of air travellers in the last 3.5 years, a growth rate that has not been witnessed anywhere globally. Many are first-time flyers who need to be made aware of their rights and duties.

For this, we are preparing the PBOR by looking at best practices globally. It will be a robust and balanced document to protect consumer rights,” Sinha said. At present, flyers are entitled to compensation for long delays, cancellations and denied boarding. The bill of rights may also propose compensation for deficiency in service.

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In Video: Roll back Rs 3,000 cancellation fee, it’s too high: Govt to airlines