Centre proposes full refund in 15 days on airline tickets booked before March 25

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have proposed that passengers who booked their air tickets before March 25 would be entitled to a full refund by the airline within 15 days.

The proposal by the Centre states that if any airline is in financial distress then the fare amount shall be saved in a credit shell which would be availed by the passenger for travel by the same airline on any route of his/her choice before March 31, 2021.

If a passenger does not wish to travel, the credit shell can be transferred to any person.

If the amount is unused, interest will accrue every month on this amount and the same is to be refunded in full after March 31, 2021.

The Centre said there shall be an incentive mechanism to compensate the passenger if there is a delay in consuming the credit shell - from the date of cancellation up to June 30, 2020, the value of credit shell shall be enhanced by 0.5 per cent of the face value (the amount of fare collected) for every month or part thereof between the date of cancellation and 30th June, 2020.

"Thereafter, the value of the credit shell shall be enhanced by 0.75 per cent of the face value per month, up to March 2021. The credit shell shall be transferable. Passengers can transfer the credit shell to any person, and the airline shall honour such a transfer. The airlines shall devise a mechanism to facilitate such a transfer. By the end of March 2021, the airline shall refund cash to the holder of the credit shell", said the affidavit.

The Centre said this solution is workable, as it balances the interests of both passengers as well as airlines, and urged the top court to pass a suitable order for its implementation.