Now pay Rs 100 per kilo of Extra Baggage from Mid June onwards

The government has proposed a slew of amendments to the civil aviation rules, including reducing cancellation charges, increasing compensation if a passenger is prevented from boarding, and streamlining the process of refunds.

The proposed amendments, which have been discussed with airlines, were uploaded on the website of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and are open of comments from the public for 15 days.

Government decides on a fixed rate for extra baggage charges

Airlines will charge less from passengers for extra checked-in baggage beyond the free limit, with the government on Saturday finalising a rate of Rs 100 per additional kilogram up to a certain level beginning middle of this month.

Against the backdrop of concerns in certain quarters about carriers charging high for extra baggage, DGCA has decided to reduce steeply the additional charge levied from passengers in this regard. Now, airlines would charge Rs 100 per extra kg till 20 kg from the current rate of Rs 300. At present, all domestic airlines allow free checked-in baggage up to 15 kg. Beyond that limit, the charge is Rs 300 per extra kg.

Higher compensation

The government has also proposed to increase the compensation amount to be paid by airlines for denying boarding to passengers due to overbooking of flights.

To reduce the possibility of flight departing with empty seats, airlines generally overbook flights to a limited extent, and passengers are entitled to a compensation of Rs 2,000-4,000 or the value of the ticket (whichever is less) in such a case. A total of 1,149 passengers were denied boarding by airlines in April and were paid Rs 40.74 lakh as compensation.