IRROPS (irregular operations) is the airline term for an unplanned cancellation, major delay or diversion that forces them to reaccommodate you. In India, a budget carrier rebooks you onto its own next flight or refunds you — it usually cannot move you to a rival airline. Your protections (refund, meals, sometimes a hotel) come from DGCA rules, not EU261.
Updated June 2026 · HappyFares
You’re at the gate, bags packed, and the screen flips to “Cancelled”. Or your inbound runs three hours late and you can already see the connection slipping away. That mess has a name inside the airline: IRROPS. Knowing how it works decides whether you reach your destination tonight or sleep on a terminal bench.
This guide explains what IRROPS means, how each major Indian airline rebooks you, and exactly what DGCA rules entitle you to in 2026. India’s system is its own — not EU261, not US DOT — so the rules below are the ones that actually apply on a domestic ticket.
What does IRROPS actually mean?
IRROPS (also written IROPS) stands for “irregular operations” — the airline’s label for any unplanned disruption that breaks the published schedule and forces them to put you on a different flight. That covers cancellations, long delays and diversions. The involuntary rebooking that follows typically happens within roughly 72 hours of departure, when the operational picture goes sideways.
The key word is involuntary. You didn’t ask to change your flight; the airline broke its promise, so the airline owns the fix. That’s different from a voluntary change, where you pay a fee to move your own booking. Under IRROPS, the reaccommodation onto an alternate flight should come at no extra charge.
Three things commonly trigger it. A cancellation wipes the flight entirely. A major delay pushes departure so far that connections or plans collapse. A diversion lands you somewhere other than your destination — fog at Delhi sends you to Jaipur, and now the airline has to get you onward.
Who decides your IRROPS rights in India — and what do they cover?
India’s IRROPS protections come from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), specifically Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV — the passenger-facilities rules every Indian carrier must meet. This is the framework SpiceJet, IndiGo, Air India, Akasa and Air India Express all operate under (per SpiceJet’s PassengerRights page, which cites the CAR dated 6 August 2010).
This matters because of what India’s scheme is not. It is not the EU’s EU261, which pays fixed cash compensation for most delays. It is not the US tarmac-delay rule with a hard deplaning clock. India’s DGCA scheme is narrower: cash compensation is owed only in two specific situations — a late-notified cancellation, or denied boarding — while care and refunds apply more broadly.
For a flight cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, the airline owes cash only if it also fails to put you on a substitute flight departing within one hour of your original time. When that trigger is met, DGCA sets these slabs:
| Scheduled block time | Compensation (whichever is less) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 hour | Rs 5,000, or one-way basic fare + airline fuel charge |
| Over 1 hour to 2 hours | Rs 7,500, or one-way basic fare + airline fuel charge |
| Over 2 hours | Rs 10,000, or one-way basic fare + airline fuel charge |
Read the “whichever is less” carefully. The payout is the lower of the slab or your basic fare plus fuel charge — so a cheap ticket can pay well below Rs 5,000. These are CAR minimums tied to block time, and the airline or DGCA can revise the figures; confirm the current amounts and your flight’s block-time band with the airline. Notice tiers stack on top: more than two weeks out, or under two weeks down to 24 hours, you’re owed an alternate flight or a refund (no cash), not the slab.
What care must the airline give during a long IRROPS delay?
During a delay, DGCA requires a tiered duty of care regardless of the reason — and that “regardless” explicitly includes weather and force majeure. SpiceJet’s passenger-rights page sets it out plainly: drinking water for up to two hours, tea or coffee with light snacks between two and four hours, and meals beyond four hours, alongside an alternate-flight or refund option for long waits.
| Delay length | What the airline must provide |
|---|---|
| Up to 2 hours | Drinking water |
| 2 to 4 hours | Tea/coffee + light snacks |
| Beyond 4 hours | Meals + alternate flight or refund |
Here’s the trap most travellers fall into: assuming any delay earns a free hotel. It doesn’t. A hotel is mandatory only when the total delay exceeds 24 hours, or exceeds six hours for flights scheduled to depart between 2000 and 0300 hrs. Even then, the airline picks the hotel at its absolute discretion — and per SpiceJet’s stated policy, no reimbursement is made if you book your own room. So don’t self-arrange and expect a refund; wait for the airline’s arrangement.
Budget carriers comply with these statutory minimums — they’re the ceiling, not a promise of full-service generosity. Exact handling of meals and hotels varies, so check the specific airline’s passenger-rights or conditions-of-carriage page. Want the full DGCA care framework? See our guide to what to do when your flight is cancelled last minute.
Does weather cancel your right to compensation?
Partly — and this is the single most misunderstood point in Indian air travel. When a disruption is caused by force majeure, the airline is exempt from paying the cash compensation. But your refund, your right to an alternate flight, and your duty-of-care meals and hotel all still apply. Only the monetary payout is waived; everything else survives.
DGCA’s force-majeure list is broad. It includes natural disaster, flood, civil war, insurrection or riot, explosion, political instability, government regulation affecting the aircraft, and strikes or labour disputes — plus the everyday operational ones: weather such as fog, thunderstorm or cyclone, ATC restrictions, security threats and airport closures (per the DGCA CAR text reflected in the Delhi airport passenger charter).
In practice, the exemption is contested. Airlines sometimes cite “technical” or “operational” reasons, and whether cash is genuinely owed depends on the cause they record. Our honest read: don’t fight over the cash first. Secure the rebooking or refund and the meals — those are owed either way — then take up the compensation question separately if the cause looks disputable.
How does each Indian airline rebook you under IRROPS?
This is where India diverges hard from the West. Indian low-cost carriers — IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa and Air India Express — generally hold no interline agreements, so IRROPS reaccommodation means their own next flight or a refund, not a seat on a competitor. Full-service Air India can sometimes endorse you onto a partner (Star Alliance or interline), depending on your ticket, fare class and seat availability.
IndiGo “Plan B” activates on a cancellation, a prepone of one hour or more, or a postpone/delay of two hours or more. You can accept the revised flight, rebook another IndiGo flight for free, or take a refund (around seven business days), per IndiGo’s Plan B as of June 2026. The rebooking is onto another IndiGo flight — not a rival — and you get one free move; further changes are chargeable.
Air India offers free self-service re-accommodation for cancelled or rescheduled flights. The link is available from roughly six hours before departure up to 14 days of travel, shows up to about 20 alternate flights, and lets you pick an alternate or a refund at no extra charge (per Air India’s self-reaccommodation page). Treat the window and option count as Air India’s current policy, which can vary — and as full-service capability, not a DGCA-wide rule.
| Airline | Rebooks you onto | Partner reaccommodation? |
|---|---|---|
| IndiGo | Next IndiGo flight, or refund | No (no interline) |
| SpiceJet | Next SpiceJet flight, or refund | No (no interline) |
| Akasa Air | Next Akasa flight, or refund | No (no interline) |
| Air India Express | Next AIX flight, or refund | No (no interline) |
| Air India (full-service) | Another Air India flight, or refund | Sometimes — Star Alliance/interline |
The practical takeaway: on a budget carrier, your fallback is the same airline’s next available seat. Don’t assume you’ll be waved onto whichever flight leaves soonest. If you booked across codeshare or interline partners, the protection rules differ — that distinction is worth understanding before you fly.
What happens to a connecting flight when IRROPS hits?
It depends entirely on whether your trip is one ticket or two. On a single PNR, the airline treats your itinerary as one contract: if a delay breaks the connection, it rebooks you onto the next available flight free and owes you duty of care while you wait. The disruption is the airline’s problem to solve.
On separate self-transfer tickets — two independent bookings you stitched together — you bear the cost. If your first leg runs late and you miss the second, the second airline can treat you as a simple no-show, with no obligation to rebook or refund. There’s no shared contract protecting the connection.
This is the strongest argument for booking connections on one PNR when timings are tight, especially with LCCs that often won’t even self-connect their own flights. If you’ve been caught out, our step-by-step guide to a missed connecting flight and the worker page on missed connections in India walk through your next moves.
How fast do IRROPS refunds reach you?
Under the DGCA refund rules effective 26 March 2026, timelines depend on how you paid. Credit-card refunds should credit in around seven days; cash paid at the point of sale is refunded immediately; and bookings made through an agent or portal can take up to 14 working days. Statutory taxes are always refunded in cash — and an airline can’t force you into a voucher (a credit shell needs your consent).
Real-world speed varies, so treat these as the norms rather than guarantees. UPI refunds sometimes land in a day or two; agent bookings can run slower; and the exact pace is subject to the airline or agent processing it. These rules are recent and the framework is still evolving, so check current timelines if a refund is overdue.
One more point that catches people out: you can’t be pushed into a credit shell against your will. If an airline only offers a voucher after an IRROPS cancellation, you’re entitled to ask for the cash refund instead. For the edge cases, see our explainer on getting a refund on non-refundable flights.
Is denied boarding the same as a cancellation?
No — denied boarding (usually from overbooking) runs on its own DGCA scale, separate from the cancellation slabs, and it’s more generous when an alternate runs late. If the airline puts you on a substitute flight departing within one hour of your original, no compensation is due. Beyond that, the payout scales with how late the replacement leaves.
| Alternate flight departs | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Within 1 hour of original | None |
| Within 24 hours | 200% of basic fare + fuel charge, capped at Rs 10,000 |
| Beyond 24 hours | 400% of basic fare + fuel charge, capped at Rs 20,000 |
Note the cap sits on the percentage payout, not a flat sum — Rs 10,000 is specifically the ceiling on the 200% (within-24h) tier, with rebooking or a refund on top. These are CAR figures that airlines or DGCA can revise, so confirm the current amounts. For the full picture, read our denied boarding and overbooking rights guide, and if a diversion is your situation instead, the flight diversion rights explainer covers that branch.
Common Questions
Does IRROPS mean I get a free flight on another airline?
Usually not in India. The major low-cost carriers — IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa and Air India Express — generally have no interline agreements, so they rebook you onto their own next flight or refund you. Full-service Air India can sometimes endorse you onto a Star Alliance or interline partner, but only depending on your ticket, fare class and availability.
Will the airline always give me a hotel if I’m stuck overnight?
No. A hotel is mandatory only when the total delay exceeds 24 hours, or exceeds six hours for flights scheduled to depart between 2000 and 0300 hrs. The airline chooses the hotel at its absolute discretion, and per stated policy it won’t reimburse a room you book yourself. Meals start earlier — at the four-hour mark — with water and snacks before that.
If fog cancels my flight, do I still get cash compensation?
Generally no. Weather is treated as force majeure under DGCA rules, which waives the monetary compensation. But you keep your right to a refund or an alternate flight, plus duty-of-care meals and (for long delays) a hotel. Only the cash payout disappears; the care and the refund do not.
How is the IRROPS cancellation amount calculated?
It’s the lower of a fixed slab or your basic fare plus the airline’s fuel charge. The slabs are Rs 5,000 (block time up to 1 hour), Rs 7,500 (over 1 to 2 hours) and Rs 10,000 (over 2 hours). Because it’s “whichever is less”, a cheap ticket can pay far below Rs 5,000. These are DGCA minimums and can be revised — confirm current figures with the airline.
What if I booked two separate tickets and missed my connection?
On separate self-transfer tickets, you bear the cost. The second airline has no contract covering your first leg, so if a delay makes you miss flight two, it can treat you as a no-show. On a single PNR, by contrast, the airline rebooks you free and provides duty of care while you wait. One ticket is the safer choice for tight connections.
Can an airline force me to take a credit voucher instead of a refund?
No. Under the DGCA refund rules effective 26 March 2026, a credit shell requires your consent, and statutory taxes are always refunded in cash. If you’re only offered a voucher after an IRROPS cancellation, you can insist on the cash refund. Card refunds typically take around seven days; agent or portal bookings can take up to 14 working days.
Be ready before IRROPS finds you
IRROPS is unavoidable — weather, crews and aircraft will always misbehave sometimes. What you can control is knowing the rules before the gate screen flips: budget carriers rebook you onto their own metal or refund you, care kicks in on a clear timeline, and force majeure waives the cash but never the refund or the meals. Book tight connections on one PNR, and don’t self-book a hotel expecting reimbursement.
Disclaimer: The compensation amounts, care thresholds, refund timelines and airline-specific policies above are indicative and change. DGCA rules and individual carrier policies are revised periodically. Confirm the current figures and your eligibility directly with the airline or DGCA before relying on them. This article is general information, not legal advice.
