Verified: 3 May 2026 05:30 am IST
Industry: Aviation & Airlines
Jurisdiction: India & International Routes
Primary Regulators: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) & Ministry of Civil Aviation
Important Safety Warning: Beware of the massive “Flight Cancellation Refund Scam.” Scammers frequently buy ads on search engines displaying fake toll-free numbers for Air India. This is a scam. Authentic Air India support is driven primarily through their official site and verified numbers. Air India staff will never ask for your account password, OTP, or request you to scan a UPI QR code to manually process a flight refund.
Level 1: Customer Support (Initial Complaint)
How to complain: Register your complaint (flight cancellations, delayed baggage, refund delays, or denied boarding) directly via the Contact Us support portal on the official Air India website (airindia.com). For immediate telephonic support, you can call their 24x7 centralized passenger helplines in India at +91-116-932-9333 or 1860-233-1407. You can also utilize their WhatsApp assistant at +91-96670-34444.
Availability: The central passenger helplines, WhatsApp bot, and online portals operate 24x7.
Timeline: Standard service requests and refund initiations must be acknowledged immediately. Air India aims to resolve standard Level 1 queries and ticketing disputes within 7 to 10 business days from the receipt of the complaint.
Level 2: Internal Escalation (Nodal Officer & Appellate Authority)
Who to contact: If Level 1 support fails, your refund is stalled, or your baggage dispute is closed without a satisfactory fix, you must formally escalate the issue. You must email the designated Nodal Officer directly at nodalofficer@airindia.com. If the Nodal Officer fails to resolve the issue, you can elevate it to the Appellate Authority at appellateauthority@airindia.com. You must include your registered phone number, email address, and the details of your Level 1 ticket (PNR Number). Written legal notices can be sent to their Corporate Headquarters (Air India Limited, Airlines House, 113 Gurudwara Rakabganj Road, New Delhi – 110001).
Timeline: Under aviation regulatory guidelines, the internal grievance officers must acknowledge escalated ticketing and service disputes and resolve them within a maximum of 15 to 30 days of receipt.
Level 3: Regulatory Authority (AirSewa Portal)
Authority: If the Air India corporate officers reject your claim or fail to resolve the issue, you must escalate the matter to the government regulators overseeing aviation consumer protection.
Portal/Contact: You must submit your grievance to the Ministry of Civil Aviation via the dedicated AirSewa Portal (airsewa.gov.in) or via the AirSewa mobile app. This centralized system tracks complaints directly against the airline’s regulatory SLA. For broader consumer service issues, you can also use the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) or call 1915.
Timeline: Grievances escalated to AirSewa are tracked with strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs), aiming for a targeted resolution response from the airline within 30 days.
Level 4: Consumer Court (Legal Action)
Pre-Litigation: Aviation service deficiencies do not require a specialized Ombudsman. The AirSewa portal and the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) act as your final pre-litigation mediation steps if internal escalations fail to yield a resolution.
Court/Arbitration: If you are aggrieved by unrefunded tickets, lost checked baggage, severe negligence, or major financial loss due to denied boarding, you must file a formal complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, utilizing the newly integrated e-Jagriti portal (e-jagriti.gov.in).
Timeline: You must file the case within two years from the date the cause of action (the service failure) arose.
Community Action: Is Air India refusing to process a refund for a cancelled flight, or are you looking for the correct template to formally escalate a lost baggage dispute to the New Delhi Headquarters? Reply below (do not share your passwords, bank details, or your exact PNR Numbers), and our community will point you to the right resources!