An airline has not resolved my complaint about a delay, cancellation or denied boarding. Where do I go?
DGCA's Civil Aviation Requirement on denied boarding, cancellations and delays lets you complain directly to the airline when it has not given the compensation or facilities the rule sets. Every registered complaint gets a unique reference number. Each airline has to appoint a nodal officer and an appellate authority and show their details on its website (CAR Section 3 Series M Part IV, paras 3.9 and 3.10). The CAR sets no number of days for them.
You can also file on AirSewa, the Ministry of Civil Aviation's app and portal, or on CPGRAMS. The Ministry takes those grievances up with the airline, and if you are unhappy with the airline's answer you can appeal.
If neither route settles it, the CAR leaves you free to go to any statutory body or court. The checker shows the consumer commission, the fee and your two-year date.
Refund deadlines sit in a separate DGCA rule that was reported revised in February 2026. We have not read the revised text, so we do not quote a day count.
If this is where you are
I have bills, chats and letters for my complaint but no dated list of events and no index the forum will accept.
List of dates and events and annexure index for your complaint
A numbered list of dates and events and an index of annexures captioned for your complaint, with a sheet on marking and filing them.
Common questions
Who handles complaints sent through AirSewa?
The Ministry of Civil Aviation runs it and passes each grievance to the airline or agency responsible.
Do I have to use AirSewa before a consumer commission?
No. The CAR lists the airline, AirSewa and a statutory body or court as routes you can use.
Want this handled for you? Tell us where you stand and we prepare the papers and take you through the filing.