At a time when a Microsoft tech glitch caused major disruption of flights across the world, which includes India, travel insurance can surely come to the rescue of the passengers. On Friday, a big outage forced several airlines such as Indigo, Akasa, and SpiceJet, to ground planes and disrupt flight operations.
After the incident, Delhi airport posted on X, saying that the global outage put a halt to some services at the airport. “We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimize the inconvenience to our flyers," the airport said. Bengaluru and Mumbai airports too said that their flight operations were disrupted and there were flight cancellations due to the outage. Among the services that were impacted, were bookings, check-in, access to boarding passes, and flights. On a social media post, Hyderabad airport said: “We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimize the inconvenience to our flyers. You may please get in touch with the airline concerned for updates on your flight information. We thank you for your support and understanding.”
Advertisement
According to an ANI report, a passenger stranded at Chennai airport told them: “I am a medical doctor from Sri Lanka. I was to go to Bhubaneshwar to give a lecture, but yesterday night my flight got canceled. Then today morning, I couldn't find a flight back to Bhubaneshwar. So I'm going back to Sri Lanka, but now I cannot get a flight, so I'm stuck here…”
For a lot of these passengers, travel insurance can help them to a certain extent. Let’s find out how:
How Travel Insurance Can Come To The Passengers' Aid: According to experts, such situations highlight the importance of having a comprehensive travel insurance policy. Most insurance plans have a component covering the trip delay and cancellation due to reasons beyond your control. Trip delay coverages generally start with a delay in flight beyond three-four hours. “Some plans also cover the trip delay component on a per-hour basis, for example - $25 per hour of delay. A claim needs to be filed with the insurance company with documents like a travel ticket or boarding pass, passport, and personal identity proof (Aadhaar),” says Meet Kapadia, head-travel insurance, Policybazaar.com. Every insurer has its timeline for the delay or flight cancellation beyond which it compensates.
Advertisement
A travel insurance also pays for losses if you miss your connecting flight. Typically, the insurer pays for the money needed for the accommodation and travel to reach the next destination.
According to Hari Radhakrishnan, an expert member of the Insurance Broker Association of India (IBAI), the recent Microsoft global IT outage has caused significant flight cancellations and delays, impacting airlines and passengers alike. “While most domestic travelers may not have travel insurance, international passengers often do. Travel insurance can provide compensation for trip delays and cancellations, covering expenses such as hotel bookings and rebooking charges when delays exceed a certain number of hours,” says Radhakrishnan.
This insurance covers costs that are not reimbursed by the airline. Although airlines must compensate passengers under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules and offer alternate flights, they may not cover all expenses like hotel stays—travel insurance steps in to handle these additional costs. Also, for most travel insurance, you need to keep in mind the kind of policy you have purchased, its add-ons, features, terms and conditions, etc.
“Exceptions exist, such as adverse weather or other uncontrollable factors, which may not be covered depending on the policy's terms. If the airline refunds the ticket price, the insurance will not cover that airfare again, ensuring no profit is made from the claim. In essence, travel insurance acts as a financial safety net for unrecovered expenses from the airline," adds Radhakrishnan.
