Aviation regulator DGCA is looking into the steep hike in ticket cancellation charges by airlines even as the flyers lobby, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), said it would approach the anti-competition watchdog on the issue, alleging cartelisation.Three domestic carrier -- IndiGo, Jet Airways and SpiceJet -- have unilaterally revised upward their ticket cancellation fee in the recent past.
“We are looking into the hike in ticket cancellation charges by the airlines,” DGCA sources said. “Cancellation charges, in any case, should not be more than the ticket prices and so the airlines should keep these charges within those limits,” they said adding that the airlines need to rationalise such charges.
Budget carrier SpiceJet yesterday raised ticket cancellation charges for both domestic as well as international travel.According to the revised fee, which is effective from yesterday, the airline would now deduct Rs1,800 as cancellation fee for a domestic ticket while calling off an international booking would be charged Rs2,250.Earlier, no-frills airline IndiGo and full-service carrier Jet Airways, too, had massively hiked such charges.