DGCA News: The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation sector regulator in India, has changed the rules regarding flight ticket booking. Passengers will now be required to provide their mobile number when booking tickets. Agents or middlemen’s mobile numbers will no longer be accepted. Find out why?
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New Delhi: If you travel by plane, here’s some important news for you. The country’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has changed the rules for booking tickets. It’s now mandatory to provide your mobile number and email address when booking a flight ticket. This is to make it easier for airlines to contact passengers.
Why This Decision Was Made
You may recall that recently (December 2025) IndiGo Airlines canceled approximately 4,500 flights. This was due to changes in pilot duty rules and poor management. The DGCA stated that during that time, they observed that many passengers were unable to receive timely information about flight cancellations. Due to this lack of information, they arrived at the airport with their luggage, only to discover that the flight had been canceled. This occurred because their mobile number and email address were not in the airline’s records. Due to this, the process of refund and compensation after ticket cancellation was also delayed.
Why this step was taken
The DGCA states that this step has been taken to maintain direct and effective communication with air passengers. This will ensure quick refunds and compensation in case of ticket cancellations. Therefore, the DGCA has directed all airlines to provide their correct mobile number and email address whenever a passenger books a ticket, whether independently or through a travel agent or otherwise. The DGCA has also clarified that all airlines, travel agents, online travel portals, and other ticket booking companies must strictly adhere to this directive. They cannot provide their own or any intermediary’s contact numbers instead of passengers’. The DGCA stated that it has come to its attention that in some cases, the contact number of a travel agent or intermediary was provided in place of the passenger’s information in ticket bookings. This has led to misunderstandings and prevented passengers from receiving important flight information.
Periodic checks will be conducted.
To ensure compliance with this rule, the DGCA has asked airlines to make travel agents and intermediaries aware of this. They should also periodically check that passengers’ contact information is being entered correctly at the time of booking. Airlines have also been advised to incorporate these instructions into their agreements with travel agents.
IndiGo received numerous complaints
In December 2025, IndiGo canceled flights en masse, bringing the entire country to a virtual standstill. The regulator received a total of 26,999 complaints from passengers. The airline provided this information while submitting traffic data to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Approximately 9.82 lakh passengers were affected by IndiGo flight cancellations that month. According to official data, IndiGo spent approximately ₹22.7 crore on refunds, alternative flights, and other compensation for passengers in December 2025. However, the airline has refused to disclose how many passengers were entitled to compensation and how many have already received it. However, during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court, the court directed the airline to provide this information. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 25th.
