Passenger rights
Flight delayed or cancelled in India? Start here
Which rulebook covers your flight, what the airline owes you at the airport, what it may owe afterwards, and how to run the claim yourself without relying on social-media folklore.
Which rulebook covers the flight decides everything: DGCA's requirements for Indian aviation, or Regulation 261/2004 for departures from the EU and EU-carrier arrivals into it.
Care at the airport and compensation afterwards are separate questions, and only the second one usually turns on the cause of the disruption.
Build the evidence file on the day, claim with the airline in writing first, and escalate only once its own response window has closed.
First, record what happened
Before arguing about compensation, build a clean timeline. Save the original booking, scheduled departure, check-in status, airline messages, revised departure, and the time you were told about the change. Take a photo of the airport display if it adds information, but prioritize written communication from the airline.
The reason matters. Weather, air-traffic restrictions, airport operations, and airline-controlled problems can lead to different outcomes. Ask the airline to identify the reason and the remedy it is offering rather than relying on a rumor in the departure area.
Do this while you are still at the airport. A gate agent will tell you the cause in a sentence on the day and a call centre will not repeat it three weeks later, so a screenshot of the airline's own message is worth more than the clearest memory.
Which rulebook covers your flight
Two frameworks matter for travellers flying from India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issues the Civil Aviation Requirements that govern Indian air transport, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation's Passenger Charter summarises them for passengers. Together they describe what an airline should offer when a flight is delayed, when it is cancelled, and when boarding is denied on an oversold flight.
The second framework is European. Regulation 261/2004 applies to flights departing from an airport in the European Union on any airline, and to flights arriving in the EU when the operating carrier is an EU airline. That is why a Mumbai to Paris or Delhi to London itinerary deserves a closer read than a domestic hop: the leg out of Europe can sit under European rules even when the outbound from India does not. The United Kingdom kept an equivalent regime of its own after leaving the EU, and the Civil Aviation Authority explains how a complaint moves through it.
Read the operating carrier, not the ticket seller. On a codeshare or an interline itinerary the airline printed on your booking may not be the one flying the aircraft, and the duty sits with the carrier actually operating the flight. Check each leg separately, because a single trip can easily fall under different rules in each direction.
- Within India, or on an Indian carrier: the DGCA requirements and the Passenger Charter
- Departing an EU airport on any airline: Regulation 261/2004
- Arriving in the EU on an EU carrier: Regulation 261/2004
- Departing the UK, or arriving on a UK or EU carrier: the UK's retained rules
- The operating carrier on the boarding pass, not the brand that sold the ticket
Meal and refreshment thresholds in the Passenger Charter
The Ministry of Civil Aviation's published Passenger Charter says that a passenger who checked in on time must be offered meals and refreshments when the expected delay reaches specified thresholds. The threshold is two hours for a flight with block time up to two and a half hours, three hours for block time above two and a half hours and up to five hours, and four hours for longer flights.
Block time is the scheduled gate-to-gate time, not just time in the air. Ask the airline desk how the rule applies to your flight and keep any voucher or written refusal. The charter is general guidance; the current Civil Aviation Requirements and facts of the disruption govern the final outcome.
When a domestic delay crosses six hours
For an expected domestic delay of more than six hours, the Passenger Charter says the revised time should be communicated more than 24 hours before the original departure and the airline should offer an alternate flight within six hours or a full refund. If this happens, ask for the options in writing before choosing one.
A refund and an alternate flight solve different problems. If the journey is still essential, compare the alternate arrival time with any hotel, train, event, or onward booking you may lose. If you choose a refund, ask where it will be returned and whether any part of the itinerary remains active.
Overnight disruption and accommodation
The charter describes hotel accommodation for certain long delays: where a delay communicated more than 24 hours before departure exceeds 24 hours, or exceeds six hours for flights scheduled between 20:00 and 03:00. The wording and circumstances matter, so show the airline your original schedule and ask it to confirm the applicable assistance.
Do not assume every overnight wait automatically creates the same entitlement. If you are told to arrange something yourself, request written approval and clarify any reimbursement limit before spending. Keep itemized receipts.
Cancellation and denied boarding are separate cases
A cancellation is not a long delay with a different label. Under the Indian requirements an airline that cancels is expected to inform passengers ahead of departure and then either move them to an alternate flight or refund the ticket, with the obligation tightening as the notice gets shorter. Ask the airline to state which option it is offering, and by when, and keep that message rather than a verbal assurance at the counter.
Denied boarding is the third case. When more passengers hold confirmed seats than the aircraft can carry, an airline is expected to look for volunteers on agreed terms first. If you are involuntarily offloaded despite a confirmed booking and an on-time check-in, a different set of obligations applies, and how quickly the airline puts you on an alternate flight changes what it owes.
In all three cases the cause is decisive for money, but far less so for care. Airlines routinely cite reasons outside their control, such as weather, air-traffic flow management, security, or an airport restriction, and where those genuinely apply, compensation is normally not payable. The duty to look after passengers during the wait is generally treated as a separate obligation. This is another reason to get the stated reason in writing on the day.
What Regulation 261/2004 adds on a European leg
Where the European regulation applies, it works differently from the Indian framework. It sets fixed compensation bands tied to the distance of the flight, payable for denied boarding, for cancellations notified inside a short window before departure, and, following long-standing case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union, for arrivals significantly later than the scheduled time. The regulation text and the European Commission's passenger-rights pages are linked below and are the source to read for your own flight.
An airline can avoid paying compensation by showing extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Severe weather and air-traffic control decisions commonly qualify; routine technical problems generally do not. This is precisely the point that gets argued, so the airline's written reason is again the document the whole claim turns on.
The right to care is separate and does not depend on whether compensation is payable. Meals, a means of communication, and accommodation where an overnight stay becomes necessary are owed while you wait. If the airline leaves passengers to arrange their own food or hotel, ask in writing for confirmation before spending and keep reasonable, itemised receipts.
Deadlines to bring a claim are not set by the regulation itself. They follow the national law of the country involved and vary a great deal, so a European leg that went wrong should not be left sitting for years while the evidence disperses.
Build the evidence file once
Whether you run the claim yourself or hand it to somebody else later, the same file does the work. Assemble it once, in one folder, while everything is still recoverable from your inbox and your phone.
Keep the first message to the airline short: booking reference, flight number and date, original and revised timing, check-in status, what was offered at the airport, and the specific remedy you are requesting. Attach the evidence once. A precise record is easier to resolve than a long account with missing dates.
- Booking reference and ticket number
- Original and revised itinerary
- Airline notification and stated reason
- Boarding pass or check-in evidence
- Operating carrier for each leg
- Receipts for approved disruption expenses
- The exact remedy requested
The realistic sequence, in order
Start with the airline or booking provider responsible for the ticket, and give it the response window it publishes before escalating. Most claims that succeed are settled at this step, and every later step is built on the airline's written answer, including a refusal.
For an Indian flight, AirSewa is the Government of India's grievance channel and is the normal next move once the airline's own process has been exhausted. Keep complaint numbers and responses together so the history reads in order. Consumer forums remain available as a further step; they are slower, but they are real.
For a European leg, each country designates a national enforcement body for Regulation 261/2004, and many airlines also take part in an alternative dispute resolution scheme. The Commission's passenger-rights page explains where a complaint goes for the country you departed from or flew into. The UK Civil Aviation Authority publishes the equivalent path for flights covered by the UK rules.
Only after a refusal, or after silence past the airline's own deadline, is it worth thinking about a paid claim service. What that choice costs, and what you sign away when you make it, is set out below.
Optional route · Claim services
You can file the claim yourself, or pay someone to chase it.
Filing directly with the airline costs nothing but your own time, and no service can win you a remedy the rules do not provide. Do that first, in writing, with the evidence pack above. A claim company becomes worth considering when the airline has refused, has gone quiet past its own response window, or when the escalation route runs through a foreign regulator you do not want to handle alone.
These companies file and chase the paperwork and keep a share of whatever is recovered. The fee, the authorisation you sign, and the flights and regulations they cover differ between them and are published on their own pages, so read those before handing over a booking. Nobody can tell you in advance that a claim will succeed: eligibility turns on the cause of the disruption, the distance, the length of the delay, and which rulebook covers that specific flight.
- Claiming direct is free. The airline's own disruption or refund form is step one, and a service cannot change what you are entitled to.
- The fee is a cut of the payout. Check the exact figure, plus any admin or bank charge, on the partner's page — it is stated there, not here.
- You are signing an authorisation. The service then acts for you with the airline, so read what the mandate covers and how you withdraw it.
- Coverage varies by regulation and country. Confirm your flight is one the partner actually handles before you spend time on the form.
These are partner links: VoyagerX may earn a commission if you file a claim through one of them, at no extra cost to you. That is exactly why the free, direct route is named first. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and VoyagerX never files, handles, or settles a claim on your behalf.
Common questions
Does every flight delay qualify for compensation?
No. Assistance and compensation depend on the delay, notice, cause, route, flight timing, and applicable rules. Use the current Passenger Charter and airline response for your specific case.
Does Regulation 261/2004 cover my flight from India to Europe?
Not automatically. It covers departures from an EU airport on any airline, and arrivals into the EU when the operating carrier is an EU airline. A return leg out of Europe can therefore be covered when the outbound from India was not. Check the operating carrier on each leg.
Should I cancel the booking myself after a major delay?
Ask the airline to record and offer the available remedy first. A voluntary cancellation can be treated differently from an airline-provided refund option.
Where can an Indian passenger escalate a grievance?
Begin with the airline or booking provider. AirSewa is the Government of India's passenger grievance portal if the issue is not resolved through the provider's process.
Do I have to use a claim company?
No. Airlines covered by these rules accept a claim directly from the passenger at no cost. Claim services exist to run the paperwork and the escalation in exchange for a share of whatever they recover, which some travellers prefer after a refusal. It is a choice, never a requirement.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
It depends on which rules apply and where. Indian grievances run through the airline's process and then AirSewa; European claim deadlines follow the national law of the country involved and differ widely. Treat it as time-sensitive and start while the messages and receipts still exist.
Reporting notes
Primary sources
These links support time-sensitive facts in this guide. Airline terms and government rules can change, so check the source again before acting.
Start with a route
Everything above applies to a specific corridor. These are the busiest ones VoyagerX has written a guide for, by the DGCA passenger volumes published on each page.
Affiliate disclosure: VoyagerX is a comparison and planning service. Some links to partner sites are affiliate links, and VoyagerX may earn a commission when you book through them — at no extra cost to you. VoyagerX never adds a fee, never issues tickets, and does not rank partners by commission. Fares shown are fares a provider recorded, each labelled with its age; the partner's checkout page confirms the final price, taxes, baggage and seat charges. How we source fares.