Airlines not to charge domestic flyers for check-in baggage upto 15 kg: DGCA

NEW DELHI: Airlines will not be allowed to charge domestic flyers for check-in baggage weighing up to 15 kg. The directorate general of civil aviation ( DGCA) is going to issue an order saying so.

An earlier DGCA ruling had put check-in baggage under unbundled items category allowing airlines to charge extra for it.

This had led some airlines to consider the idea of charging for any check-in bag like AirAsia India had planned to ahead of its operations last year.

"If some airline wants to incentive flyers with no check-in bag by offering them a rebate, we have no problem with that. But they will not be allowed to charge extra for first 15 kg of check-in bags. A consumer-friendly move is welcome but nothing that goes against flyers' interest will be allowed," said a DGCA official.



DGCA chief M Sathiyavathy has separately asked her deputy, Lalit Gupta, to expeditiously take a view on recent increase in ticket cancellation charges by IndiGo and Jet Airways as other carriers like SpiceJet are planning to follow suit.

Sathiyavathy had over a month back directed a review, but the agency has not so far taken a decision on this.

Airlines charge anywhere up to Rs 4,000 for cancelling a domestic ticket. All carriers have raised cancellation prices by 50-100% in the last 20 months from earlier Rs 750.