MakeMyTrip Launches Price Drop Protection: Flyers Can Claim Fare Difference if Ticket Prices Fall After Booking

MakeMyTrip has launched a new Price Drop Protection feature for flight bookings, giving travellers the option to claim the fare difference if the price of the same flight falls after they have booked.

The service, launched on September 28, 2026, is available for eligible domestic and international flights booked through MakeMyTrip. It is designed for travellers who want to confirm their tickets early without worrying that fares may become cheaper later.

How Price Drop Protection Works

Price Drop Protection is an optional paid add-on that passengers can select while booking a flight on the MakeMyTrip website or app.

Once the booking is confirmed, MakeMyTrip tracks the fare for the same flight at regular intervals. If the eligible fare drops after booking and before the cut-off period, the traveller can claim the difference after completing the journey.

The comparison is based on the lowest fare captured on MakeMyTrip for the same flight during the protection period.

Fare Tracking Continues Until Six Hours Before Departure

MakeMyTrip monitors the eligible fare from the time the booking is confirmed until six hours before the scheduled departure.

The calculation compares the fare originally paid with the lowest eligible fare recorded during that period. Only the base fare and applicable taxes displayed on MakeMyTrip are considered for determining the price difference.

This means travellers do not need to repeatedly search for the same flight themselves simply to check whether the ticket has become cheaper.

Refund Can Reach ₹5,000 on Domestic Round Trips

For domestic one-way bookings, MakeMyTrip will refund the actual eligible fare difference or up to ₹2,500 per passenger, whichever is lower.

For domestic round trips, the total protection can reach ₹5,000 per passenger.

International travellers receive a higher ceiling. The maximum benefit is ₹3,000 per passenger for a one-way international booking and ₹6,000 for an international round trip, subject in each case to the actual eligible fare difference.

The service therefore does not guarantee payment of the maximum amount. Travellers receive only the qualifying reduction in fare, up to the applicable limit.

Travellers Must Fly on the Original Booking

Price Drop Protection comes with an important condition: the passenger must travel on the same flight for which the protection was purchased.

According to MakeMyTrip’s official terms, the protection becomes void if the flight booking is modified, including a change of travel date. Cancellation or rescheduling of the flight can also invalidate the service under the stated conditions.

The product is therefore designed to protect the price of an existing journey rather than provide a mechanism for repeatedly changing bookings to chase lower fares.

Claim Must Be Filed After Completing the Journey

Although MakeMyTrip tracks fares automatically, the refund is not simply credited at the moment a lower price appears.

Passengers must complete their scheduled journey and then submit a claim through the MakeMyTrip platform. The claim must be filed within 30 days of the scheduled departure date. Claims made after that period are not eligible.

MakeMyTrip also allows customers to view applicable fare information through its support platform while the protection remains active.

Not Every Price Drop Qualifies

The protection applies only to eligible publicly available fares.

Fare reductions resulting from flash sales, promotional offers, cashback schemes, coupon codes, loyalty programmes, reward benefits or non-public fares are excluded. Temporary pricing anomalies caused by system errors or technical glitches are also outside the protection.

Reductions resulting from changes in government taxes, airport charges or regulatory fees are excluded as well.

Any price change occurring within six hours of departure falls outside the protection window.

It Is Available for Domestic and International Flights

MakeMyTrip’s official terms state that the service covers both domestic and international flight bookings made through its platforms.

When the feature was launched, reported introductory pricing began at around ₹229 per passenger for domestic flights and ₹349 per passenger for international flights, although the actual protection fee may vary depending on the booking.

Travellers should therefore compare the cost of purchasing the protection with the potential benefit before adding it to a booking.

Price Drop Protection Is Different From Price Lock

MakeMyTrip already offers another product called Price Lock, but the two services work at different stages of the booking process.

Price Lock allows a traveller to temporarily hold a fare before purchasing the ticket. If the price rises during the lock period, the traveller retains protection against the increase, subject to the product’s conditions. If the fare falls before booking, the traveller can pay the lower amount.

Price Drop Protection begins only after the flight has been booked. Its purpose is to compensate eligible travellers when the same fare becomes cheaper later.

Not a Government-Mandated Refund Rule

It is important to distinguish MakeMyTrip’s feature from statutory passenger rights.

Price Drop Protection is a commercial value-added service offered by MakeMyTrip. It is not a DGCA rule requiring airlines across India to reimburse passengers whenever fares decline after booking. MakeMyTrip itself describes the product as an optional service governed by its own terms and conditions.

Airfares remain dynamically priced, which means passengers travelling on the same flight can legitimately pay different amounts depending on when and under what fare conditions they booked.

Reducing the Risk of Booking Too Early

The feature addresses one of the most common uncertainties in airline booking.

Passengers frequently delay buying tickets because they hope prices will fall, even though waiting can also expose them to considerably higher fares. Price Drop Protection gives travellers another option: secure the ticket while retaining limited protection against a later decline.

For families or groups booking several seats, even a moderate fall in the per-passenger fare can become significant across the entire booking.

Online Travel Platforms Move Beyond Ticket Comparison

Price Drop Protection also reflects a wider shift in India’s online travel market.

Travel platforms are increasingly competing not only on ticket prices but also through products that reduce uncertainty around cancellations, date changes, fare movements and disruptions.

MakeMyTrip already offers services such as Zero Cancellation, Free Date Change and Price Lock. Price Drop Protection extends this approach to what happens to the ticket price after purchase.

For travellers, the key is to understand exactly what is being purchased. The product can provide useful protection against a genuine fare decline, but its value depends on the protection fee, refund ceiling and eligibility conditions.

As India’s aviation market expands and dynamic pricing becomes increasingly sophisticated, products that reduce uncertainty around airfare movements could become an important part of how travellers plan and book their journeys.

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References

1. MakeMyTrip — Price Drop Protection: Official Terms and Conditions.
2. MakeMyTrip — Official Flights portal and Price Drop Protection information.
3. MakeMyTrip — Official Price Lock product information.
4. Moneycontrol — MakeMyTrip Launches Price Drop Protection Feature for Flight Bookings, September 28, 2026.

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