Airline Refund Complaint Format
Flight cancellation, refund delay, lost baggage, denied boarding
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File an airline refund complaint in writing with the airline first, quoting your PNR, the cancellation date and the exact amount due. Under DGCA CAR Section 3 Series M Part II, a credit-card refund must reach you within 7 days, a cash refund is payable immediately at the airline office, and a refund on a ticket bought through an agent or portal must be completed within 14 working days — with the airline, not the agent, responsible for it. If the money has still not arrived, escalate to the airline nodal officer, then to the DGCA through the AirSewa portal, and finally to the District Consumer Commission.
Key takeaways
- The refund clock is set by the payment method, not the airline: 7 days for credit card, immediate for cash at an airline office, and 14 working days for agent or portal bookings.
- Statutory taxes and the User Development Fee, Airport Development Fee and Passenger Service Fee are refundable on every cancelled ticket — including promotional and "non-refundable" fares.
- Cancellation charges cannot exceed the basic fare plus the airline fuel charge. Anything billed above that is recoverable.
- Refund and compensation are two separate claims. Getting your ticket money back does not extinguish a denied-boarding or cancellation compensation claim under CAR Series M Part IV.
- Consumer Commission jurisdiction is decided by the value of the consideration you paid for the ticket — not by the compensation you are asking for.
iGuideline Summary
Airline refunds in India are governed by DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements, Section 3 (Air Transport), Series M, Part II — currently Revision 3, issued on 24 February 2026 and effective from 26 March 2026. A refund to a credit or debit card is due within 7 days, a cash refund is payable immediately at the airline booking office, and a refund on a ticket bought through a travel agent or online portal must be completed within 14 working days, with the airline (not the agent) answerable for it. Statutory taxes and the User Development Fee, Airport Development Fee and Passenger Service Fee are refundable on every cancelled ticket, including promotional fares, and a cancellation charge cannot exceed the basic fare plus the airline fuel charge. Delay, cancellation and denied-boarding compensation is separate, and sits in Series M, Part IV.
When to File This Complaint
- Airline cancelled your flight and refund not received after 7 business days
- You cancelled and refund has not appeared in 7-20 business days
- Baggage lost or damaged and claim not settled within 21 days
- You were denied boarding despite a confirmed ticket
- Hidden fees or wrong fare charged without disclosure
- No-show charge applied incorrectly
Documents Required
- Flight booking confirmation with PNR number
- E-ticket or itinerary copy
- Bank / credit card statement showing deduction
- Airline cancellation email or notification
- Boarding pass (for denied boarding or baggage disputes)
- Baggage claim tag (for lost/damaged baggage)
- Airline's written response (if any)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not saving PNR and airline cancellation confirmation
- Missing the DGCA portal — most consumers only call airline helpline
- Not demanding written confirmation of denied boarding
- Failing to keep boarding passes for baggage-related claims
- Not checking airline's conditions of carriage for applicable timelines
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an airline take to process a refund in India?
Under DGCA CAR Section 3 Series M Part II (Revision 3, effective 26 March 2026), a credit or debit card refund is due within 7 days, a cash refund is payable immediately at the airline booking office, and a refund on an agent or portal booking must be completed within 14 working days. The airline carries the obligation even where you booked through an agent.
What can I do if the airline refuses to refund for a cancelled flight?
First, send a formal complaint to the airline's grievance officer. If unresolved, file a complaint on the DGCA portal. You can also approach the National Consumer Helpline or Consumer Forum for compensation.
Is there compensation for denied boarding in India?
Yes. Under CAR Section 3 Series M Part IV, there is no compensation if you are rebooked within 1 hour of the original departure; 200% of the one-way basic fare plus fuel charge, capped at ₹10,000, if the alternate flight departs within 24 hours; and 400% capped at ₹20,000 if it departs later or if you decline the alternate flight and take a refund.
How do I file a baggage claim with an Indian airline?
Report lost or damaged baggage at the airport baggage desk immediately and obtain a Property Irregularity Report (PIR). Then file a formal written complaint with the airline within 7 days for damaged bags and 21 days for lost bags.
Can I go to Consumer Forum against an airline?
Yes. Airlines are covered under the Consumer Protection Act 2019. If the airline fails to resolve your complaint, you can file at the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) for deficiency in service.
What the DGCA refund rules actually require in 2026
Airline refunds in India are governed by DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements, Section 3 (Air Transport), Series M, Part II. The current text is Revision 3, issued on 24 February 2026 and effective from 26 March 2026. It replaced a much looser regime in which airlines routinely told passengers that a refund "may take 30 to 45 working days" with no consequence.
Two changes matter most for a complaint. First, the refund deadline now depends on how you paid, and the airline carries the obligation even when you booked through a travel agent or an online portal — the agent is treated as the airline's appointed representative, so "your agent has your money" is not a defence the airline can rely on. Second, the airline must return every statutory tax and airport levy on a cancelled ticket, whatever fare class you bought.
| How the ticket was paid for | Deadline for the refund to reach you | Who is answerable |
|---|---|---|
| Credit or debit card, or any online payment | Within 7 days of cancellation | The airline |
| Cash, paid at an airline booking office | Immediately, at the same office | The airline |
| Travel agent or online travel portal (MakeMyTrip, Yatra, EaseMyTrip, Cleartrip and similar) | Within 14 working days | The airline — the agent is its appointed representative |
Source: DGCA CAR Section 3, Series M, Part II, Revision 3 (effective 26 March 2026). Confirm the current text at dgca.gov.in before you quote it in a formal complaint.
A complaint that says "it has been two months and nobody replies" is easy to file away. A complaint that says "the refund was due within 7 days of 12 May 2026 under CAR Section 3 Series M Part II and 91 days have now elapsed" gives the nodal officer something they have to answer in writing.
The 48-hour look-in window: free cancellation after booking
Revision 3 introduced a look-in option. If you book directly on an airline's own website, app or booking office, you may cancel or amend that booking within 48 hours of making it without any additional charge — you pay only the ordinary fare difference if you are moving to a costlier flight.
The window has one important exclusion. It is not available if the flight departs within 7 days for a domestic sector, or within 15 days for an international sector, counted from the date you booked. It also attaches to direct bookings; a ticket bought through an agent or an online travel portal does not automatically carry it.
- Applies to bookings made directly with the airline (website, app or booking office).
- Cancel or amend within 48 hours of booking with no additional airline charge.
- Not available for domestic departures inside 7 days or international departures inside 15 days of booking.
- If an airline levied a cancellation charge inside a valid look-in window, that charge is recoverable — say so explicitly in your complaint.
What an airline must refund even on a "non-refundable" ticket
The single most common airline refund dispute in India starts with a customer-care agent saying the fare was non-refundable. That is only ever partly true. A fare can be non-refundable; the taxes and airport levies collected on top of it cannot be.
Under the CAR, on a cancelled ticket the airline must refund all statutory taxes together with the User Development Fee (UDF), Airport Development Fee (ADF) and Passenger Service Fee (PSF), across every fare category including promotional fares. Separately, the cancellation charge the airline retains cannot exceed the basic fare plus the airline fuel charge. If the airline has kept the taxes, or has kept more than basic fare plus fuel charge, you have a quantified claim.
| Component of the fare | On cancellation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic fare | May be retained as a cancellation charge | Only up to the published cancellation charge |
| Airline fuel charge | May be retained as part of the cancellation charge | Cancellation charge cannot exceed basic fare + fuel charge combined |
| GST and other statutory taxes | Must be refunded | All fare categories, promotional fares included |
| User Development Fee (UDF) | Must be refunded | Collected on behalf of the airport, not earned by the airline |
| Airport Development Fee (ADF) | Must be refunded | Same principle as UDF |
| Passenger Service Fee (PSF) | Must be refunded | Same principle as UDF |
| Convenience fee charged by an agent or portal | Depends on the agent contract | Raise separately with the agent; the airline is not liable for it |
Airlines do not volunteer the split between basic fare, fuel charge, taxes and UDF/ADF/PSF. Ask for it by email. Once you have it, you can state the exact refundable figure instead of arguing about the total.
Refund versus compensation: two separate claims you can make together
A refund returns the money you paid for a service you did not receive. Compensation is a separate statutory payment for the disruption itself, set out in DGCA CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV (Revision 4, effective 15 February 2023). Airlines frequently settle the refund and stay silent about the compensation, and most passengers never ask.
Compensation for cancellation is payable where the airline cancels without telling you at least two weeks ahead and fails to put you on an alternate flight within the window the CAR prescribes. Denied-boarding compensation is payable when you held a confirmed booking, reported within the airline's stated closing time, and were still refused boarding because the flight was oversold.
| Alternate flight offered | Compensation payable |
|---|---|
| Departs within 1 hour of the original scheduled departure | No compensation payable |
| Departs within 24 hours of the original scheduled departure | 200% of one-way basic fare + airline fuel charge, capped at ₹10,000 |
| Departs more than 24 hours later | 400% of one-way basic fare + airline fuel charge, capped at ₹20,000 |
| You decline the alternate flight and take a refund instead | Full ticket refund plus 400% of one-way basic fare + fuel charge, capped at ₹20,000 |
Where compensation for a cancellation is due, it is the lower of a fixed cap or the one-way basic fare plus fuel charge: ₹5,000 for flights with a block time up to 1 hour, ₹7,500 for a block time of 1 to 2 hours, and ₹10,000 for a block time above 2 hours. Meals, refreshments and — for long or overnight disruptions — hotel accommodation with transfers are owed on top, and are never a substitute for the money.
The airline refund escalation ladder, step by step
Escalating out of order is the most common reason an airline refund complaint stalls. Every forum above the airline will ask what the airline said first, and will send you back if you cannot show a written complaint and the airline's reply (or its silence).
- 1Written complaint to the airline. Email the airline's customer relations address with your PNR, ticket number, cancellation date, fare break-up and the exact refund amount claimed. Ask for a complaint reference number and keep the auto-acknowledgement.
- 2Airline nodal / grievance officer. Every scheduled Indian airline publishes a nodal officer and an appellate authority on its website under DGCA requirements. Escalate on the same reference number rather than opening a fresh ticket, so the original complaint date is preserved.
- 3AirSewa / DGCA. File on the AirSewa portal or app (airsewa.gov.in), operated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The complaint is routed to the airline with a tracked grievance ID and a response deadline. This is the step most passengers skip, and it is the one that produces movement.
- 4National Consumer Helpline. Call 1800-11-4000 or file at consumerhelpline.gov.in. NCH mediates rather than adjudicates, but its intervention is free, fast and creates another dated record.
- 5District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. File at e-jagriti.gov.in for deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. This is the forum that can award compensation for mental agony and litigation costs on top of the refund.
Airlines close and re-open tickets constantly, and each new ticket resets the clock they will later quote at you. Reply inside the original email thread every time, so the complaint date stays fixed and the delay is visible on the face of the record.
Which consumer forum hears an airline refund case, and what it costs
Jurisdiction under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is decided by the value of the consideration paid — what your ticket cost — and not by the compensation figure you put in the prayer. This distinction was settled by the Supreme Court and it catches out a lot of self-filed complaints, because passengers inflate the claim and then file in the wrong commission.
For an ordinary airline ticket, that means the District Commission, and it means no filing fee at all in most cases.
| Value of consideration paid | Commission | Filing fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹5 lakh | District Commission | Nil |
| Above ₹5 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh | District Commission | ₹200 |
| Above ₹10 lakh and up to ₹20 lakh | District Commission | ₹400 |
| Above ₹20 lakh and up to ₹50 lakh | District Commission | ₹1,000 |
| Above ₹50 lakh and up to ₹2 crore | State Commission | As notified by the State Commission |
| Above ₹2 crore | National Commission | As notified by the NCDRC |
Pecuniary limits per the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021. Fee slabs per the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 as amended. Confirm the current fee at e-jagriti.gov.in before filing.
Deadlines that will end your airline refund claim if you miss them
A consumer complaint filed after two years is not automatically dead — the Commission can condone the delay if you show sufficient cause — but you have to apply for condonation and explain the delay, which is a far weaker position than filing in time.
| Step | Deadline | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Report damaged baggage to the airline | 7 days | The date you received the baggage |
| Report delayed baggage to the airline | 21 days | The date the baggage was placed at your disposal |
| File a consumer complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 | 2 years | The date the cause of action arose |
| File a civil suit for recovery of the amount | 3 years | The date the money became due, under the Limitation Act, 1963 |
A Property Irregularity Report (PIR) obtained at the airport baggage desk is what starts the baggage clock. Without a PIR, a later baggage claim is very hard to sustain.
The evidence file that makes an airline refund complaint work
Airline complaints are won on documents, not on narrative. Assemble the file before you write, and attach it in a single labelled PDF rather than a scatter of screenshots.
- The booking confirmation showing the PNR, ticket number, sector, date and the full fare break-up.
- The airline's cancellation SMS or email, with its date and time visible.
- A bank or card statement extract showing the original debit, and showing that no credit has been received since.
- Every complaint reference number, with the date each was raised.
- The boarding pass, for a denied-boarding or baggage claim.
- The Property Irregularity Report, for any baggage claim.
- The airline's written reply — or, where there is none, a dated screenshot of the unanswered ticket.
- For an agent booking: the agent's invoice, plus the airline's confirmation that it has released the refund to the agent.
When a portal booking is cancelled, airlines often release the money to the agent and treat their obligation as discharged. It is not. Under Revision 3 the onus of completing the refund within 14 working days lies with the airline, because the agent books as its appointed representative. Name both the airline and the agent in your complaint and say so.
Worked examples
Example 1: Airline cancels a domestic flight and keeps the taxes
- Sector
- Delhi – Bengaluru, one way
- Total paid
- ₹6,480
- Basic fare
- ₹3,900
- Airline fuel charge
- ₹700
- GST + UDF + PSF
- ₹1,880
- Cancelled by
- The airline, 3 days before departure
- Amount credited back
- ₹0 — voucher offered instead
- 1.The airline cancelled, so this is not a passenger-initiated cancellation and no cancellation charge is retainable at all.
- 2.Statutory taxes and airport levies of ₹1,880 are refundable in every case, in every fare class.
- 3.Because the airline cancelled, the full ₹6,480 is refundable in money. A credit-shell voucher is a settlement you may accept, not one the airline can impose.
- 4.The block time on Delhi–Bengaluru is above 2 hours, so if the airline gave less than two weeks' notice and did not offer an acceptable alternate flight, cancellation compensation is the lower of ₹10,000 or basic fare + fuel charge — here ₹3,900 + ₹700 = ₹4,600.
- 5.Payment was by credit card, so the refund was due within 7 days of the cancellation.
Claim ₹6,480 as refund plus ₹4,600 as cancellation compensation, and state that the 7-day credit-card refund deadline has been breached. Total demanded: ₹11,080, with the components shown separately so the airline cannot settle the smaller one and call the file closed.
Example 2: Denied boarding on an oversold flight, rebooked 30 hours later
- Booking
- Confirmed, checked in within the closing time
- Reason for refusal
- Flight oversold
- Alternate flight offered
- Departing 30 hours later
- One-way basic fare
- ₹4,200
- Airline fuel charge
- ₹800
- Alternate flight
- Accepted
- 1.The alternate flight departs more than 24 hours after the original scheduled departure, so the 400% slab applies.
- 2.Basic fare + fuel charge = ₹4,200 + ₹800 = ₹5,000.
- 3.400% of ₹5,000 = ₹20,000.
- 4.The cap for this slab is ₹20,000, so the amount payable is the full ₹20,000.
- 5.Because the alternate flight was accepted, the ticket is used and no refund of the fare arises — the ₹20,000 is compensation, standing on its own.
- 6.An overnight wait of this length also attracts hotel accommodation with transfers, and meals and refreshments at the airport, in addition to the money.
Denied-boarding compensation of ₹20,000, plus hotel and meals. Ask for the compensation in writing on the day, and get the denial of boarding recorded in writing at the airport — without that record the airline will later say you simply missed the flight.
Example 3: Portal booking: the airline says it has already paid the agent
- Booked through
- An online travel portal
- Ticket value
- ₹9,300
- Cancelled by
- The passenger, inside the free look-in window
- Booked directly with the airline?
- No — through a portal
- Airline position
- "Refund released to the agent on 4 June"
- Agent position
- "Awaiting the airline"
- Days elapsed
- 61
- 1.The 48-hour look-in window applies to bookings made directly with the airline, so it does not by itself help a portal booking — the fare rules of the ticket govern the cancellation charge instead.
- 2.The refund obligation, however, does apply: for an agent or portal booking, the airline must complete the refund within 14 working days.
- 3.61 days have elapsed against a 14-working-day deadline, so the deadline is breached regardless of where the money is currently sitting.
- 4.The onus is on the airline because the agent books as its appointed representative — being "released to the agent" does not complete the refund to the passenger.
- 5.Statutory taxes and UDF/ADF/PSF are refundable in full in any event, so at minimum that component cannot be withheld by either party.
Address the complaint to the airline's nodal officer, copy the portal's grievance officer, and cite the 14-working-day obligation under CAR Section 3 Series M Part II. If neither moves, file one AirSewa complaint against the airline and one consumer complaint naming both the airline and the portal as opposite parties, so neither can point at the other.
More questions about this page
How long does an airline legally have to refund my money in India?▼
Can an airline refuse a refund because my ticket was non-refundable?▼
What is the 48-hour look-in period introduced by the DGCA?▼
Can I claim compensation and a refund for the same cancelled flight?▼
How do I file a DGCA complaint about an airline refund?▼
Which consumer forum do I file an airline case in, and what does it cost?▼
The airline says it refunded the money to my travel agent. What now?▼
How long do I have to complain about lost or damaged baggage?▼
What if the airline offers a credit voucher instead of money?▼
Is there any fee to complain to the airline, AirSewa or the National Consumer Helpline?▼
How long does an airline refund case take at the consumer commission?▼
Does GetNyay file the complaint for me?▼
Official sources checked
The statutes, rules and regulator pages the statements on this page were checked against.
- Refund deadlines by payment method, the 48-hour look-in window, and refund of statutory taxes and airport levies.
- Delay, cancellation and denied-boarding compensation.
- The grievance portal through which an airline complaint reaches the DGCA.
- Deficiency in service, unfair trade practice, and the two-year limitation.
- Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District, State and National Commission) Rules, 2021Pecuniary limits measured by the value of the consideration paid: ₹50 lakh, ₹2 crore.
- The consumer commission filing portal since 1 January 2025, when it absorbed eDaakhil, OCMS, CONFONET and the NCDRC case management system.
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Escalation Path
- 1Airline customer care (email / contact form)
- 2Airline nodal / grievance officer
- 3AirSewa grievance portal (airsewa.gov.in) — routed to the airline with a tracked grievance ID
- 4National Consumer Helpline (1800-11-4000)
- 5Consumer Forum (DCDRC / SCDRC)
Important Disclaimer
GetNyay is not a law firm, not an advocate, and is not affiliated with any government body. We do not provide legal representation or guarantee complaint resolution. All information is for educational and self-help purposes only. Users are responsible for verifying final content before submission. Regulator contact details and timelines are informational — always verify at official government portals before relying on them.