New Delhi, June 11: The civil aviation ministry today proposed several passenger-friendly measures, including a cap on ticket cancellation charges, lower charges for extra baggage up to 5kg, and increased compensation for denial of boarding and late cancellations by airlines.

Under the proposals, airports and airlines will have to provide additional facilities to people with disabilities.

The proposals have been put up on the ministry website seeking the public's responses within 15 days. The proposals are:

• Cancellation charges: Airlines, domestic or international, cannot charge cancellation fees higher than the ticket's basic fare. No additional charge to process the refund can be imposed.

Cancellation charges now sometimes exceed the ticket cost because of the separate penalties levied by both the airline and the travel portal, the directorate-general of civil aviation recently observed.

The refund process must be completed within 15 working days in case of domestic travel and 30 working days in case of international travel.

"It will be the responsibility of the airline to see that the refund of the ticket takes place on time," Union aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters.

Passengers seeking a refund now have to deal with their travel agent.

• Baggage relief: Most domestic airlines now allow passengers to carry 15kg check-in luggage free of cost, charging Rs 250-350 per kilo for extra baggage. Under the proposals, passengers will be charged Rs 100 per extra kg up to 20kg.

"When we are packing we don't know the exact weight. But when we reach the airport, we sometimes find we are carrying excess luggage beyond 2kg or 3kg, which allows airlines to charge excess baggage fee," junior aviation minister Mahesh Sharma said.

"The new measure will ease the problems of such flyers."#The new rule will not apply to Air India, which allows passengers to carry 25kg luggage free of cost.

• Denial of boarding: Passengers are sometimes denied boarding by airlines even after reporting at the airport within the time stipulated on the ticket, mainly because of overbooking.

Such passengers will now get a compensation equal to double the basic fare plus double the airline fuel charge component of the ticket, subject to a maximum of Rs 10,000. The compensation will be given along with a ticket for the next possible flight that leaves within 24 hours of the original flight's scheduled departure.

If the airline overshoots the 24-hour margin, the passenger will need to be paid four times the basic fare plus four times the airline fuel charge, subject to a maximum of Rs 20,000.

The compensation in such cases is now Rs 2,000. There will be no compensation, however, if the passenger is accommodated on another flight that leaves within an hour of the original flight.

• Disabilities: An airport should provide towable ramps for wheelchair passengers if it does not have an ambulift or an aerobridge facility.

Airlines must establish procedures for differently abled passengers to seek stretchers and prominently display the procedures on their websites.

• Flight cancellations: If a flyer is informed of his flight's cancellation less than 24 hours before the scheduled departure, he can claim a compensation up to Rs 10,000 if he doesn't accept the airline's offer of an alternative flight. The current compensation is Rs 2,000.

A spokesperson for GoAir said the airline would officially comment on the proposed measures through a communication to the government.

D. Sudhakar Reddy, president of the Air Passengers Association of India - a flyers' rights body - welcomed the proposals but said the government should also cap the economy-class fare.

"The proposals have come as a relief but I still don't understand why the government is dragging its feet on capping economy-class fares," he said.

Sources said the government had decided not to cap airfares lest airlines hike the floor price, raising average airfares.