Air India Flight Cancellation and Refund Policy: How to Cancel Air India Flight & Secure a Refund

Air India offers passengers flexibility when it comes to canceling their bookings. Passengers can easily initiate a cancellation and request a refund directly through their website or mobile app. The following is Air India’s flight cancellation policy:

• You can cancel any Air India flight within 24 hours of purchasing your ticket and receive a full refund, provided your flight’s departure is at least 7 days later at the time of booking
• If the flight departure is less than 7 days from the date of booking, applicable cancellation charges can apply
• The refund you receive for your Air India cancelled ticket depends on factors like fare type, the timing of the cancellation, and the reason. Cancelling well in advance can lead to up to 90% refund. Yet, close-to-departure or post-departure cancellations might not be eligible for refunds.

Cancellation charges

The following table presents the various cancellation charges and associated no-show fees depending on the travel class and cabin brand. The no-show window for all travel classes is 2 hours.

Cancellation process

Passengers who make their reservations online can use the Manage Booking section to cancel their reservations. Once you visit the linked page, follow these steps:

• Enter your last name and booking reference (PNR)/ticket number
• Click on the Retrieve Booking button
• Follow the prompts to select your flight and cancel
• You will receive an email confirming your flight cancellation

Please note that if the booking has NOT been made online, the passenger is advised to contact any Air India office to cancel their reservation. The ticket issuing office will then refund the tickets.

What is Air India’s refund policy?

Air India has specific policies for processing refunds. For tickets purchased through an Air India City booking or airport office, passengers are required to contact the nearest Air India reservation office to initiate the refund process. Below are the details of Air India’s refund policy:

• All air tickets are governed by fare conditions and they determine the price of the ticket. Depending on the fare conditions, the fares tend to vary. The most flexible fares have the least restrictions attached to them and are more expensive. Some of the most common conditions are: Whether the ticket is refundable and the charges related to it, whether the ticket dates/flight can be changed and the charges related to it, whether there are no-show charges related to it
• Refundable tickets will be refunded fully, while Air India non-refundable ticket cancellations only get taxes repaid
• You can apply for an online refund up to 48 hours before departure. However, online refunds will not be accepted within 48 hours of departure
• If you have only used a part of your ticket, you’re entitled to claim a refund on the unused portion of your ticket. The airline will deduct the one-way fare, taxes, and Air India cancellation flight charges before giving you the remaining balance
• Air India refunds for Air India cancelled bookings will be issued in the same form of payment used to make the reservation. If booked through a travel agent, refunds will be issued to the agent’s account, and passengers must contact the agency directly for refunds
• If Air India cancels your flight, you can reschedule your flight via self-service re-accommodation or get a refund

Refund process

The cancellation request for bookings made online will be processed automatically through the Internet Booking Engine. Any refunds due will be processed by the system in accordance with the applicable cancellation rules.

To process a refund online:

• Head to the Manage Booking section.
• Enter your last name and booking reference/ e-ticket number
• Retrieve booking
• Cancel your flight and submit a refund request

Please note that canceling a single PNR with multiple passengers booked on it will result in canceling all the booked passengers, as it is not possible to cancel one passenger from a multi-passenger booking. The passenger is advised to contact Air India’s call center for such cancellations or re-booking.

If you have booked through a travel agency, please contact the travel agency for the issuance of the refund.

Air India processes the refund almost immediately in normal circumstances. However, the general processing time for refund requests is 7 to 10 business days. If there is any delay due to an invalid bank account, incorrect payment methods, etc., the processing might be delayed.

Passengers can raise concerns with their Case IDs on Air India’s customer support portal for refund delays beyond 15-20 business days or utilize the platform for general inquiries via phone, WhatsApp, or AI agent.

Refund status check

Passengers can check their pending refund status on Air India’s website. The following steps should be followed to obtain the current status of your refund request:

• Visit the refund section of Air India’s customer support portal
• Click the “Status Check on Pending Refund” option
• Fill in the contact and e-ticket details to obtain the current status of your pending refund

Please note that this page also contains other services, such as submitting a new refund request, incorrect refund and failed booking transactions. The above-mentioned procedure applies to these services as well.