Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has directed the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to investigate whether online ticket booking platforms are charging excessive cancellation fees from consumers beyond airline charges or amounts disclosed at the time of booking.
In an X post on Saturday, the union minister of consumer affairs posted: “I have directed the Department of Consumer Affairs and CCPA to investigate whether online ticket booking platforms are imposing excessive cancellation charges on consumers, beyond what is charged by airlines or disclosed at the time of booking. Have directed them to check other online ticket booking platforms too.”
Joshi said that he has also asked the department to examine other online ticket booking platforms for similar practices. In his post, Joshi highlighted that such practices reduce transparency and weaken consumer trust. He also warned platforms found violating the norms may be treated as Unfair Trade Practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, leading to action by CCPA.
“Such practices undermine transparency and consumer trust and, if found to be unfair or in violation of consumer rights, may amount to Unfair Trade Practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. CCPA will take necessary action, including class action measures wherever appropriate, to protect consumer interests and ensure fair treatment of consumers,” the minister added.
I have directed the Department of Consumer Affairs and CCPA to investigate whether online ticket booking platforms are imposing excessive cancellation charges on consumers, beyond what is charged by airlines or disclosed at the time of booking. Have directed them to check other… https://t.co/Ctufn1oorD
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) May 23, 2026
His warning came amid rising concerns over excess cancellation fees from consumers for airline bookings. Earlier on X, BJP leader Tajinder Bagga alleged that online travel platform Agoda charged an excessive cancellation fee on an airline ticket booking.
“Booked an Akasa Air ticket via Agoda and accidentally selected Navi Mumbai instead of Mumbai. Tried cancelling via Agoda – they showed a cancellation fee of Rs 4,764 and refund of just Rs 1,571. Then I checked directly with Akasa Air. Akasa Air’s own cancellation page shows: Total deduction: Rs 299; Refund amount: Rs 6,076,” he posted.
Booked an @AkasaAir ticket via @agoda and accidentally selected Navi Mumbai instead of Mumbai.
Tried cancelling via Agoda – they showed a cancellation fee of ₹4,764 and refund of just ₹1,571.
Then I checked directly with Akasa Air.
Akasa Air’s own cancellation page shows:
•… pic.twitter.com/cpnOup1JcX— Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) May 22, 2026
On the incident, Bagga questioned why Agoda charged an exorbitant additional fee despite the airline’s cancellation fee being significantly lower.
“Charging 15x the airline’s actual cancellation fee for the same ticket feels completely unethical,” he said.
Reacting to his post, many users shared similar experiences with third-party bookings.
According to one user who faced a similar issue, an online booking platform reasoned that the high cancellation fee included “convenience charges” and other non-refundable amounts.
Same drama happened with me. Swiss Visa rejected. Cancelled my flight ticket via Make My Trip. They refunded (with lots of difficulty and time) all money except Rs. 4,000.
They say its their convinience and other non refundable amount.— madhyama pandava (@thirdpandava) May 23, 2026
Some users alleged that online apps such as MakeMyTrip and Goibibo also indulged in similar practices.
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