IndiGo to Compensate Passengers Affected by Flight Cancellations
Compensation for Affected Passengers
New Delhi, Dec 20: IndiGo, the Indian airline, is set to begin compensating passengers impacted by extensive flight cancellations earlier this month, starting next week.
From December 26, the airline will issue travel vouchers valued at Rs 10,000 to those who faced significant delays and were stranded at airports on December 3, 4, and 5, as reported by various sources.
These vouchers are in addition to the compensation ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 required by government regulations. This decision was made during a high-level review led by Aviation Secretary Samir Sinha, who emphasized the need for IndiGo to ensure timely payments to all eligible passengers.
It was agreed that payments would commence within a week for passengers who booked directly through IndiGo’s website, as their information is readily available to the airline.
IndiGo has been instructed to gather passenger information from travel agents and online booking platforms to facilitate direct payments to those affected. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will oversee the distribution of compensation, while the civil aviation ministry will monitor the process via its Air Seva grievance portal.
Although IndiGo has started processing refunds for cancelled flights, many passengers who booked through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) have yet to receive their payments, highlighting coordination issues between airlines and booking services.
MakeMyTrip has reportedly processed refunds totaling nearly Rs 10 crore following directives from the DGCA, even before receiving funds from IndiGo.
IndiGo Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta previously stated that the airline's Board plans to engage external technical experts to collaborate with management in identifying the underlying causes of the recent significant flight disruptions.
He assured that these experts would assist in preventing such large-scale operational failures in the future.
As of December 8, the airline confirmed that all destinations within its network are fully operational, with services stabilizing since December 9.