Airlines may cancel flights delayed beyond 3 hours: Aviation body issues SOPs

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 15, 2024: Following a series of complaints regarding delays and cancellations of flights, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) stating that airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, flights that are expected to be delayed beyond 3 hours.

 

The aviation body also asked airlines to ensure protection of air travellers, specifically in cases of denied boardings, flight cancellations, and unexpected delays without prior notice.

"Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights," an official release by DGCA read.

As part of the new guidelines, airlines are now obligated to include reference to the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on flight tickets.

It is mandatory for all airlines to strictly adhere to the provisions outlined in the CAR, with reference expected to be visible on flight tickets. However, the CAR exemptions apply in instances of Force Majeure events, denoting extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline’s control.

The DGCA SoPs were issued in response to recent disruptions caused by fog and adverse weather conditions, especially at airports like Delhi Airport, resulting in flight delays, cancellations, and passenger inconvenience.

KEY SOPs ANNOUNCED BY AVIATION BODY

Real-time information publication: All airlines must publish accurate and real-time information about flight delays through various channels, including their official website, advance notifications to affected passengers via SMS/WhatsApp and email, and updated displays at the airports.

Staff sensitisation: Airline staff at airports are required to be appropriately sensitised to effectively communicate, guide, and continuously inform passengers about flight delays.

Cancellation policies: Airlines are encouraged to proactively cancel flights, well in advance, that are expected to be delayed or consequentially delayed due to prevailing adverse weather conditions beyond a period of 3 hours. This is aimed at preventing congestion at airports and minimising passenger inconvenience.

FLIGHT DELAY INCIDENTS

Several incidents of passengers’ outbursts have come to light in the recent past after flights were delayed for hours, cancelled and at times diverted due to bad weather conditions and low visibility.

Earlier in the day, an IndiGo passenger was arrested after he slapped a co-pilot of a Goa-bound flight in Delhi while he was making an announcement of a delay in the aircraft. A video of the incident, now going viral on social media, shows the man, identified as Sahil Kataria, running up to a co-pilot and hitting him in the face.

While several people urged actions against the accused passenger, others highlighted the frustration amongst passengers, citing a stream of complaints against IndiGo.

In yet another, passengers of a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight were seen having dinner on the runway after it was delayed for hours and later diverted. Several users of the micro-blogging site X (formerly known as Twitter) claimed that a Goa to Delhi IndiGo flight was delayed for nearly 18 hours on January 14 and later diverted to Mumbai.

Courtesy: India Today