Parliament Question: Measures taken to address the issue of flight delays

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3373 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23rd March 2026 MEASURES TAKEN TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FLIGHT DELAYS 3373. DR. KANIMOZHI NVN SOMU Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) the measures being taken by Government to address the issue of flight delays and their impact on passengers; (b) the manner in which Government is holding airlines accountable for flight delays along with the penalties or incentives in place to ensure timely operations; (c) the details of any actions taken recently against airlines for repeated instances of flight delays; and (d) the details of any existing compensation schemes for passengers affected due to flight delays? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a) to (d): Generally, flights are operated by the airlines as per the approved schedule. However, at times due to various extraordinary reasons such as weather, technical, operational, ATC, ramp, airport issues, etc. which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken by the airline, the flight gets delay/cancel, which affect their ability to operate flights as per approved schedule. DGCA has issued following Civil Aviation Requirements in order to ensure the convenience of the passengers: (i) Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section - 3, Series M, Part II titled "Refund of Airline Tickets to Passengers of Public Transport Undertakings". (ii) Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section-3, Series M, Part IV Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights. The airline shall provide facilities like meals/ refreshments/ Hotel accommodation/ alternate flight or refund based on the duration of delay and the block hours of the route. Further, DGCA has issued Air Transport Circular 2 of 2019 titled "Facilities/Courtesies to esteemed travelling public at airports" which lays down the general requirements for airlines and airports to ensure adequate facilitation of the passengers, particularly senior citizens, expectant mothers, passengers with disability, first time travellers etc. There is a systematic safety oversight process in place for monitoring the compliance of Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements. The safety oversight process includes regulatoryaudits, surveillance inspections and spot checks. In addition special audits are also carried out as per the risk perceived. In case of any violations/ non-compliance to regulations detected during audit/surveillance, enforcement action including financial penalty is imposed by the DGCA. ******