Passengers to get full refund when downgraded from higher cabin: DGCA

Regulator's rules do not say what compensation an airline needs to give to a passenger affected by ticket downgrade

If an airline is downgrading a passenger from a higher cabin such as premium economy, business class or first class, it will need to give full refund and a free seat in the next available cabin, said aviation regulator DGCA on Friday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that it has observed instances wherein passengers have been downgraded from higher cabins to lower cabins.

For example, when a passenger who booked her ticket on first class, business class or premium economy, is downgraded to a lower class at the time of check-in due to various reasons like unserviceable