Do I get a refund if my USA–India flight is cancelled?

Yes, if you decline the alternative the airline offers. US rules require a refund of the full fare, taxes included, for flights to and from the United States when the airline cancels or significantly changes them, even on non-refundable tickets.

How long does an airline have to refund me?

Seven business days when you paid by card and twenty calendar days for other payment methods, under the US automatic refund rule.

Does a three-hour delay on an international flight count?

Not under the US refund rule, which uses six hours for international flights. A flight departing the EU or the UK that arrives three or more hours late can still qualify for European compensation.

Should I cancel my ticket myself when the flight is delayed?

No. Wait for the airline's decision and ask about your options first. Cancelling yourself can make it a voluntary cancellation with the fare's penalties.

USA–India Flight Cancelled or Delayed? What You're Owed

In short

If the airline cancels or significantly changes a flight to or from the United States and you decline the alternative it offers, US Department of Transportation rules entitle you to a refund of the ticket, even on a non-refundable fare. For international flights a significant change includes a departure or arrival moved by six hours or more. The refund has to be automatic and prompt: within seven business days for card payments and twenty calendar days for other methods, to the original form of payment. If you accept the rebooking instead, the refund is not owed. Flights leaving the European Union or the UK can also bring fixed compensation under European rules, and the Montreal Convention covers proven costs of long delays and delayed bags. Do not cancel the ticket yourself before the airline acts: that can turn the airline's cancellation into your own.

The first hour: what to do

Read the airline's message: it usually offers a new flight. You do not have to accept it straight away.
Do not cancel your ticket yourself. A ticket you cancel is a voluntary cancellation, with the fare's own penalties.
If you booked through us, WhatsApp us your booking reference. We check the options with the airline and tell you in writing what each one means.
Keep receipts for meals, hotels and transport while you wait, and screenshots of every delay or cancellation notice.

When the US rule gives you a refund

The rule covers flights to, from and within the United States, sold by US and foreign airlines. You are owed a refund when the airline cancels the flight, or makes a significant change, and you do not accept what it offers instead.

For an international flight, a significant change includes: departure or arrival moved by six hours or more; a different departure or arrival airport; an extra connection; a move to a lower class of service; or a connection at a different airport. For flights within the US the time threshold is three hours.

The refund is the full fare including taxes and fees, back to the card or account you paid with. You do not have to take a travel credit or voucher unless you want one.

When you may also be owed compensation

Many trips between the USA and India connect in Europe. If your flight departs from an airport in the European Union or the UK, or arrives in the EU on an EU airline, European rules can add fixed compensation, up to 600 euros on long flights, for a cancellation with little notice or an arrival three or more hours late, unless the airline shows extraordinary circumstances such as severe weather.

On international journeys the Montreal Convention makes the airline liable for proven damage caused by delay, up to 6,303 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, unless it took all reasonable measures to avoid it. Keep your receipts: this covers costs you can show, not a fixed sum.

Missed connections: why one ticket matters

When both flights are on one ticket, the airline that delayed you has to get you to your destination, normally on its next available flight, and your bags travel with you. With two separate tickets, a late first flight is your problem: the second airline can treat you as a no-show. This is why we book the domestic leg to or from Nagpur on the same ticket as the international flight wherever the airlines allow it.

If your bags do not arrive

Report it at the airline's baggage desk before you leave the airport, and keep the report reference.
Buy only essentials and keep the receipts; airlines reimburse reasonable interim expenses.
Under the same US rule, the checked-bag fee is refunded when you file a report and a bag on a flight to or from the US arrives significantly late: 12 hours after a domestic flight, 15 to 30 hours after an international one, depending on its length.
On international journeys, the airline's liability for delayed, lost or damaged bags is limited to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights, about US$2,000, under the Montreal Convention.

If you booked with AeroVista Bookings

Send us your booking reference on WhatsApp or call. We contact the airline, compare rebooking and refund for you, and submit the refund request if that is what you choose. Our own service fee for the original booking is covered by our refund policy; anything the airline owes you is the airline's to pay.

Official sources

This guide explains the rules in general and is not legal advice. Your airline's conditions of carriage and your fare rules apply to your booking.

Your USA–India flight was cancelled or badly delayed: what to do and what you are owed