Need to reschedule your flight? New DGCA rules offer a free 48-hour fix but with a catch

Passengers will now get a 48-hour window to amend or cancel their tickets without penalty under fresh guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).  

The revised Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) dated February 24, 2026, introduces a “look-in” option allowing flyers to reschedule or cancel bookings within 48 hours without paying any additional charges, except the fare difference for the revised flight.  

However, this flexibility will not apply to flights departing within seven days for domestic travel and 15 days for international travel from the date of booking, when tickets are purchased directly through the airline’s website. After the 48-hour window, standard cancellation or amendment charges will apply.  

The regulator has also placed a cap on cancellation fees. Under no circumstances can an airline or its agent levy a cancellation charge higher than the basic fare plus fuel surcharge. This excludes charges imposed by travel agents, provided they were fully disclosed at the time of booking.  

Airlines have been barred from levying any additional fee to process refunds.  

On refunds, the DGCA has set strict timelines. For tickets booked using a credit card, airlines must process refunds within seven days of cancellation. In the case of cash transactions, refunds must be made immediately at the airline office from where the ticket was purchased. For bookings made through travel agents or portals, the airline remains responsible for completing the refund process within 14 working days.  

Importantly, airlines must refund all statutory taxes and User Development Fee (UDF), Airport Development Fee (ADF) and Passenger Service Fee (PSF) in cases of cancellation, non-utilisation or no-show, even for promotional or special fares where the base fare is non-refundable.  

The rules also require airlines to clearly display cancellation charges at the time of booking and specify the exact amount refundable on cancellation.  

Further, no additional charge can be levied for correcting a name error of the same passenger if the mistake is reported within 24 hours of booking, provided the ticket was booked directly through the airline’s website.  

In medical emergencies involving the passenger or a family member on the same PNR who is hospitalised during the travel period, airlines may offer either a refund or a credit shell. In other medical cases, refunds will be processed once a fitness-to-travel opinion is received from an airline’s aerospace medicine specialist or a DGCA-empanelled specialist.  

The new norms, applicable to domestic and foreign carriers operating to and from India, will come into effect from March 26, 2026.