A now-viral post accusing travel booking platform Agoda of charging an excessive cancellation fee for an airline ticket has sparked outrage online. The controversy began after X user Tajinder Bagga shared
his experience of cancelling an Akasa Air ticket that he had booked through the platform.
According to his post, he had mistakenly selected Navi Mumbai instead of Mumbai while making the reservation and later attempted to cancel the ticket through the booking platform.
Bagga claimed Agoda displayed a cancellation fee of Rs 4,764 and offered him a refund of only Rs 1,571. However, after checking directly with Akasa Air, he discovered that the airline’s own cancellation page showed a deduction of just Rs 299, with a refund amount of Rs 6,076.
Sharing screenshots to support his claim, he wrote, “Booked an @AkasaAir ticket via @agoda and accidentally selected Navi Mumbai instead of Mumbai. Tried cancelling via Agoda – they showed a cancellation fee of Rs 4,764 and refund of just Rs 1,571.”
He further added, “Akasa Air’s own cancellation page shows: • Total deduction: Rs 299 • Refund amount: Rs 6,076. Akasa customer care also confirmed the airline cancellation charge is only Rs 299, and since the booking was made through Agoda, the refund would go back to Agoda.”
Questioning the pricing structure, Bagga asked, “If the airline is deducting only Rs 299, why is Agoda charging me Rs 4,764? That’s an extra Rs 4,465 for what exactly? Charging 15x the airline’s actual cancellation fee for the same ticket feels completely unethical.”
As the post gained traction online, several social media users shared similar concerns about booking platforms and advised travellers to book directly through airline websites instead of third-party aggregators.
Responding to the viral complaint, Agoda commented, “Hi Tajinder Bagga, We’re sorry for the inconvenience. Please check your DM—we’ve made a request for more information so we can investigate your booking. Regards, Rosie.”
The incident also prompted many users to discuss their own experiences with online travel portals.
“I check flights on MMT etc but book only directly. For lack of any regulations, these portal overcharge at every step and then add a hefty convenience charge. I just booked Ranchi to BLR via Indigo with Fast Forward and great seats and meal – MMT without seats and FF was higher,” one user commented.
Another user highlighted aviation refund rules and wrote, “Under DGCA cancellation you can claim full refund if ticket is cancelled within 48 hrs of booking and journey date is at least 7 days away. While discussing on customer care use DGCA cancellation. I got full refund with @makemytrip once under this. Not even a rupee deducted.”
“Paaji, one learning which I have recently got is no matter how much difference in the fair, always book tickets via companies directly,” another person said.
A different user added, “This is the only reason I have started booking directly through airlines pages, rather than aggregators as they are missing fair trade practices most of the the time and sometimes every time during cancellations.”
Some users were even harsher in their criticism. “Agoda is a scam and useless company. I booked a hotel and denied stay because it’s already filled then I have to book another hotel and ask for refund which never came and I completely forgot about it,” one user wrote.
Booked an @AkasaAir ticket via @agoda and accidentally selected Navi Mumbai instead of Mumbai.
Tried cancelling via Agoda – they showed a cancellation fee of ₹4,764 and refund of just ₹1,571.
Then I checked directly with Akasa Air.
Akasa Air’s own cancellation page shows:
•… pic.twitter.com/cpnOup1JcX— Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) May 22, 2026
Another commented, “i dont understand why people use shit sites for bookings just to save a few hundred? just use the actual airline site. phir kuch kaand hoga aur phir aa jaoge twitter pe.”
