Passengers who miss their flight will be able to save their booking for the return flight — to do this, they need to notify the airline no later than two hours after the departure of the missed flight. The new rule is enshrined in the updated Federal Aviation Regulations, which come into force on March 1.
Bookings for subsequent legs of the route will not be cancelled if two conditions are met simultaneously: the passenger notified the carrier in a timely manner, and the next flight departs no earlier than 24 hours later. If at least one of the conditions is not met or the passenger does not report their intention to fly further, the airline has the right to cancel all subsequent bookings without warning.
Prior to the introduction of this rule, missing the first flight effectively nullified the entire route: carriers automatically removed the passenger from subsequent flights, including the return flight. This was especially painful for owners of non-refundable tickets. Now, the passenger has a specific time window to record their intention to continue the trip and not lose the already paid flight home.
Read more on the topic:
- From March 1, you can return a non-refundable ticket if the flight is delayed by 30 minutes
- Will air tickets become more expensive? Russia has approved the amount of infrastructure fee per air passenger
- The company developing the Russian air ticket booking system Leonardo was seized into the treasury
