Airfare refund: DGCA cracks whip! On travel agents, this step has been ordered

Aviation regulator DGCA today issued strict directive to all airlines in favour of passengers who generally face difficulty in getting their airfare refunds in case their flights are delayed, missed or cancelled. The DGCA said that if a ticket has to be refunded through a travel agent, the airlines must ensure that it happens in a timely manner, said a report. This means airlines will have to step in to ensure travellers get their money back and that too quickly.

The DGCA also noted that airlines must give all necessary assistance to the passengers for their connecting flights, adding "Airlines must ensure proper conduct and behaviour of their employees towards passengers."

According to a PTI report, the aviation regulator has said, "The airlines must keep close coordination with their travel agents. The travel agents must share the mobile numbers of the travelling passenger with the airlines for flight information updates."

Issuing a strict directive, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that all the airlines must send repeated SMS after every 30 minutes to keep the passengers updated for the flight delay/cancellation/ boarding gate change.

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The instructions have reportedly been issued in the wake of passengers' complaints on social media citing that the airlines have failed to inform them on time about flight's delay, cancellation or boarding gate change, thereby causing them problem.