Flying in fog season? Here’s how to protect yourself from delays and cancellations.

livemint.com:

If you’re planning to fly to or within north India in the next month or two, you should be prepared for fog-related delays and cancellations. After all, flight disruptions due to adverse weather affected about four lakh passengers last December.

According to the aviation ministry’s passenger charter, passengers are entitled to refreshments, free hotel stays and even monetary compensation, depending on the length of the delay. However, adverse weather is among the factors for which airlines aren’t required to provide free hotel stays or monetary compensation if a flight is delayed for more than 24 hours.

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This means you could end up having to book a hotel and an alternative flight with your own money. To prevent this, consider buying travel insurance if you plan to fly towards the end of December or in January.

Travel insurance pays a fixed, predetermined amount if your flight is delayed. The amount of cover and the stipulated length of the delay differs across policies.

Delayed flights: This is paid when a flight is delayed after the passenger has checked-in. It does not apply when the airline informs passengers about the delay at least six hours before the departure time.

Vivek Chaturvedi, chief marketing officer and head of direct sales, Go Digit General Insurance, said a common carrier delay cover pays out if the flight is delayed beyond the duration specified in the policy.

He added that passengers should check how the insurer calculates delay times when buying such a policy. “Some insurers or policies may consider the actual departure time as the moment the parking brakes are released, while others use the time when the