Air Transport Circular (ATC) 01 of 2021

About Air Transport Circular (ATC) 01 of 2021:

• Air Transport Circular (ATC)-01 of 2021 is titled: Unbundle of Services and fees by scheduled airlines.

Unbundling of Services:

• Under the circular some services like preferential seating have been allowed to be unbundled and charged separately from the travellers.
• The circular stated that the airline offers services that may not be essential for every traveler, and therefore, there is potential to lower the base airfare by unbundling these services.
  • This includes preferential seating, food and drinks (except water), and baggage charges amongst others.
  • Such unbundled services are provided on opt-in basis by Airlines and are not mandatory in nature.

Auto Seat Assignment and Web Check-In:

• There is a provision for auto seat assignment to the passengers who have not selected any seat for web check-in before scheduled departure.
• Scheduled domestic airlines are not charging any fee for completing web check-in formalities.

Airport Check-In Charges:

• For airport check-ins, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has instructed all scheduled airlines not to impose an extra fee for issuing boarding passes at airport check-in counters, as such charges cannot be categorized as tariff as stipulated by Rule 135 of The Aircraft Rules, 1937.

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