IndiGo passengers aren’t seeing a smooth ride as flight cancellations are on the rise all over the country. Due to the mounting protests and refunds that have been kept pending, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has given an ultimatum to the airline to clear all the refunds that are already in deposits without further delay. The Centre has also limited fares on domestic flights so that there will be no price increases due to the turmoil.
During the last few weeks, there have been reports from the passengers about mass cancellations, which have caused all kinds of troubles for the people at the airports, and they are now having difficulty in finding another flight to reach their destination. The airline, as a result of the attributing of the largest domestic fleet in India to itself, used the case to blame the operational challenges and lack of staff as factors behind their sudden disruptions. Though IndiGo is guaranteed to operate regularly in a short time, a considerable number of passengers are still holding onto their tickets and waiting for refunds for the flights that have been canceled a few days ago or even weeks.
The ministry of Civil Aviation in its official statement announced that all the airlines have to follow the timelines for refunds as it is stated in the guidelines issued by DGCA. The passage of the statement read, “Refunds that have not yet been paid to the passengers must be carried out without delay.” “IndiGo has been instructed to expedite all refunds and if in any case a passenger is financially inconvenienced due to cancellations, measures are to be taken to relieve the situation.”
Moreover, the government has introduced fare caps for the routes where there are cancellations along with the directive of refund. The implementation of these caps is for the purpose of safeguarding the airline against increments of the fare in the due course of high demand, particularly, under the circumstances of peak travel periods. Experts assure that fare regulation, along with refund compliance, is a step to protect customers from being abused at the time when the airline is in bad shape.
The passengers who have had their flights canceled are instructed to keep a close watch of any messages from IndiGo about their refunds and rebookings. Also, the DGCA suggests that travelers should file a complaint in case of any violation or delay in refund so that the authorities could act swiftly.
IndiGo has accepted the government’s directives, and it has given assurances to its customers that it is in the process of resolving operational issues and that it will soon complete its backlog of refunds for the passengers. With these measures, the government hopes to ease the plight of stranded travelers and to revive the confidence in domestic air travel all over India.
