Cancelled a flight ticket? Find out how many days it takes to get a refund and where to complain if your money is stuck.

Flight Ticket Refund Rules: Great news for air travelers. Now, you won't have to wait weeks for a refund after canceling your flight ticket. According to the new DGCA rules, airlines must refund within 14 days. Learn about the refund deadline and the correct way to file a complaint.

Flight Ticket Refund Rules: While booking a flight ticket is easy, canceling it and getting your money back used to be a tedious task. Passengers often complained about having to wait weeks for a refund and airlines giving vague answers. But now, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made a major change to the rules, providing significant relief to travelers. Airlines will no longer be able to act arbitrarily and will be required to complete the refund process within the stipulated time.

Strict 14-day refund rule

According to the DGCA's new guidelines, airlines are required to refund passengers within a maximum of 14 working days after a ticket is cancelled. Importantly, the airline will be fully responsible for the refund, whether the ticket was booked directly through its website or through a third-party travel agent or online portal. Airlines can no longer shirk responsibility by claiming the money is stuck with the agent, as the agent is, according to regulations, the airline's representative.

Free Cancellation Facility

For passenger convenience, a "look-in option" has now been implemented. If there is sufficient time left for the flight date and the passenger cancels or changes the ticket within 48 hours of booking, the airline will not charge any additional cancellation fees. However, if the fare for the new date is higher than the previous one, the passenger will only be required to pay the difference in fare.

Correcting a typo is now completely free.

Often, in a hurry, misspellings are often made while booking tickets, which previously required a hefty fine to correct. Now, if a ticket is booked directly through the airline's website and the name correction (typo error) is reported within 24 hours, the airline cannot charge any extra fee. Furthermore, if the passenger or a family member (on the same PNR) is suddenly hospitalized, the airline must offer a full refund or a credit shell.

Where to file a complaint if you don't receive your money?

If your money hasn't been credited to your account even after 14 days of ticket cancellation, don't sit idle. First, send a written complaint to the relevant airline's customer service. If a proper resolution isn't received there, you can escalate the matter to the DGCA's complaint redressal portal (AirSewa). The DGCA reserves the right to take strict action and impose fines against airlines that violate these rules.