Indian flyers to get compensation for delays

by Sanjay Jha | April 30, 2008 at 08:00 pm

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Ending the long standing woes of flyers, Indian government has passed a law to give more compensation to airlines passengers from airlines for flight delays. Of late, congestion has become a severe problem in Indian sky and flights get delayed on a daily basis. This will definetly be a big relief for Indian passengers.

Indian flyers will soon be entitled to bigger compensation from airlines for lost or damaged baggage, flight delays, and injury or death in a mishap during travelling.

Moreover, the discrimination faced by an Indian passenger while flying abroad on a carrier which offers much higher damages to a foreign co-passenger could also end.

On the flipside, the increased liabilities could lead to airlines raising fares. Aviation minister Praful Patel tabled the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2008, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Passed by the House, it proposes to "facilitate higher compensation and prevent Indian passengers from discrimination."

The bill seeks to increase compensation for "death or bodily injury" by seven times from $20,000 (about Rs 8 lakh) to $140,000 (about Rs 56 lakh). For damage to a baggage, the compensation can go up from $20 (about Rs 800) per kg to $1,400 (Rs 56,000) per passenger.