A Mumbai woman's dispute with IndiGo and MakeMyTrip has put airline refund policies under the spotlight after she alleged that nearly ₹40,000 was deducted from her refund despite her flight being cancelled by the airline — twice.

Kanika Mohan Saxena shared her experience on LinkedIn, claiming she was charged cancellation fees even though both itinerary changes originated from the airline. The post has since sparked discussions online about passenger rights and refund policies when airlines cancel flights.

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₹1.03 lakh Bali booking hit by two cancellations

According to Saxena, she had booked return tickets from Mumbai to Bali on IndiGo for travel in July with her nephew, paying around ₹1.03 lakh for the reservation.

She said she was informed last week that her original flight had been cancelled and that she had been automatically moved to an alternative itinerary involving an 18-hour layover.

Read the viral post here:

"This was clearly not a viable option," she wrote.

Saxena alleged that when she contacted IndiGo customer care, she was repeatedly told that no suitable alternative flights were available on July 2, 3 or 4, despite other options being visible in the system.

However, after checking with her travel agent and sharing specific flight details with the airline, she was eventually rebooked on a Mumbai-Singapore-Bali route.

Replacement itinerary also cancelled

The matter did not end there.

A few days later, Saxena said the revised itinerary was also cancelled or rescheduled. She claimed she received an SMS from IndiGo on a Friday night informing her that the flight had once again been cancelled.

"I then spent hours on calls with customer service trying to find a resolution at IndiGo," she wrote.

According to Saxena, airline representatives assured her that she would receive a full refund because the cancellations had originated from the airline.

"During these conversations, I was informed that I would receive a full refund because the cancellation originated from the airline and not from me and the flight is cancelled again," she said.

'Only ₹67,500 refunded'

Saxena said she later received a notification stating that only around ₹67,500 would be refunded against a booking value of approximately ₹1 lakh.

"Today, I received notification that only ₹67,500 would be refunded against a booking value of approximately ₹1,00,000, with the balance deducted as charges and fees," she wrote.

Saxena said she was entitled to a full refund as she had not cancelled the booking herself. According to her, both flight cancellations were initiated by the airline, and she had been assured that the refund would be processed in full.

She also criticised MakeMyTrip's customer support, claiming its chatbot initially confirmed that a refund was being processed before becoming unresponsive.

"Make my trip chat bot confirmed a refund was on its way and then the chat bot refused to work and kept showing error. ( pls do check your ai chat bot before you put entire customer care in the hands of a chat bot and make yourself unavailable immediately )," she wrote.

Questioning the deductions, Saxena alleged that the refund shortfall included charges imposed by both the airline and the booking platform.

"40000 rupees cancellation charges and fees for a plane which refuses to fly ? ( MMT charges 7500, indigo charges 27996 , ancillary charges 2000)," she wrote.

IndiGo says full refund initiated

Responding to the allegations, IndiGo said a full refund had been initiated and advised the passenger to coordinate with the booking platform through which the tickets were purchased.

Initially, MakeMyTrip said it was verifying the matter with the airline.

"We are validating all the details with the airline. Kindly allow us 2-3 days, and we'll get back to you with an amicable solution," the company said.

In a subsequent update shared in the comments section of Saxena's LinkedIn post, MakeMyTrip said the refund had already been processed and that the details had been shared with the customer.

"Kanika Mohan Saxena We have processed the refund and shared the details with you via private message. We request you to review the same for the refund details. Please let us know if you require any further assistance," the company wrote under her post. 

What are passengers entitled to?

The incident has highlighted a common area of confusion for travellers: who is responsible for processing refunds when a flight is cancelled?

In general, when an airline cancels a flight, passengers are usually entitled to either an alternative booking or a full refund, depending on the circumstances.

"If your flight is cancelled or rescheduled from our end, you can use Plan B to change the time and/or date of your flight, or cancel and process a refund, at no additional cost," according to IndiGo's website.

The rules are different when passengers voluntarily cancel their bookings. In such cases, airlines typically levy cancellation charges, which vary depending on the fare type and how close the cancellation is to the departure date.

For tickets booked through travel agencies or online travel platforms, airlines generally transfer the refund amount to the agency after the booking is cancelled.

"Passengers will have to contact the concerned agency directly to claim their refund," according to IndiGo.

While MakeMyTrip says the refund has now been processed, Saxena's post has renewed questions about transparency in airline refunds and the challenges passengers can face when cancellations involve multiple