Budget carrier Indigo will now impose a higher fee on domestic passengers who cancel their tickets. Passengers who cancel their tickets 48 hours before departure would have to forego ₹2,250 a segment on domestic routes while those who cancel between 48 hours and 7 days will lose ₹2,000. Similarly, for international departures, the cancellation charges will be ₹2,500 a passenger per segment if cancellation is made between 4 hours and 7 days prior to the flight.

John Nair, Head-Business Travel at Cox & Kings, said: “While earlier it was a flat fee of ₹1,500 per segment this new fee structure will impact the customer as he will end up paying a higher fee for cancelling tickets closer to the date of travel.”

Indigo did not give reasons for making these changes. The move will have a significant impact on the booking patterns, as customers will now book air tickets after being doubly sure about their travel plans, said Neelu Singh, Chief Operating Officer of online travel portal Ezeego1.com.

Other carriers may also change their cancellation policy.

Mohit Gupta – Head, Online Business, MakeMyTrip.com, said: “Given this move is an overall encouragement to the leisure/holiday travel market, we might see other low-cost carriers might follow suit with their own cancellation policy over the next few months.”

Indigo has a market share of over 37 per cent in the Indian skies.

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