New Delhi:
New Delhi:The government has ruled out introducing an automatic compensation mechanism for passengers affected by flight delays and cancellations, saying there is no proposal under consideration to compensate travellers based on airlines’ on-time performance, even as nearly 20 lakh passengers were affected by flight delays in 2025 alone.
The response came in the Rajya Sabha after MP Surendra Singh Nagar asked whether the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had considered introducing a mechanism for automatic payment of compensation, without requiring individual complaints, based on airlines’ on-time performance data.
The MP also sought details of complaints received on the AirSewa portal over the last three years relating to flight delays, cancellations and denial of boardings, the number of cases in which compensation was paid under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), and whether the DGCA was considering an automatic compensation system.
Responding to the query, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said, “DGCA has issued CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV titled ‘Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights’ to reduce inconvenience. At present, no such mechanism for automatic payment of compensation based on on-time performance is under consideration of DGCA.”
The minister also tabled data on passenger complaints received through the AirSewa portal, passengers affected by flight disruptions and the amount spent by scheduled domestic airlines on facilitation and compensation.
According to the data, 19.6 lakh passengers were affected by flight delays in 2025, with airlines spending Rs 21.46 crore towards facilitation and compensation. While this was lower than the 26.75 lakh passengers affected in 2024, it remained significantly above the 22.51 lakh passengers impacted in 2023, highlighting that delays continued to affect nearly two million travellers last year.
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Flight cancellations, meanwhile, worsened sharply. The number of passengers affected rose from 3.12 lakh in 2023 to 6.71 lakh in 2024, then more than doubled to 14.6 lakh in 2025. Correspondingly, airlines’ expenditure on facilitation and compensation for cancellations climbed to Rs 29.7 crore in 2025 from Rs 11.6 crore in 2024 and Rs 9.89 crore in 2023.
Passengers affected by denied boarding declined from 18,746 in 2024 to 13,603 in 2025, although the figure remained higher than the 12,278 recorded in 2023. Airlines spent Rs 11.3 crore on facilitation and compensation in such cases during 2025.
The parliamentary reply also points to a steady rise in passenger complaints relating to flight delays. Complaints received through the AirSewa portal increased from 2,544 in 2023 to 4,590 in 2024 and further to 6,335 in 2025, a rise of nearly 150 per cent over two years. The government said all 13,469 complaints received during the three years have been resolved.
Complaints relating to check-in and boarding stood at 1,510 in 2023, rose to 1,969 in 2024 and eased slightly to 1,859 in 2025, with all 5,338 complaints resolved.
Ticketing, fare and refund complaints increased from 4,836 in 2023 to 5,369 in 2024, before almost doubling to 10,804 in 2025. Of the 21,009 complaints received under this category over the three years, only four remain pending, according to the government.
The AirSewa portal also received 383 complaints relating specifically to airfare in 2025, all of which have been resolved.
The ministry said complaints on the AirSewa portal are resolved within prescribed timelines.
The existing Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) require airlines to provide facilities and compensation to passengers in cases of denied boarding, flight cancellations and delays. However, passengers are required to seek such compensation under the existing framework, with the government making it clear that it is not considering a system that would automatically compensate travellers based on airlines’ on-time performance.
The government’s decision comes even as airline disruptions continue to affect a significant number of travellers. Parliament data shows nearly 20 lakh passengers were affected by flight delays and over 14.6 lakh by flight cancellations in 2025 alone. Despite the scale of the disruption, the government has ruled out an automatic compensation mechanism, leaving passengers to continue relying on the existing complaint-based framework for any relief.
