Weather and Delay Policies

Determining Your Flight’s Status
If your flight is delayed or canceled due to weather or any other circumstance, you will be notified by Team BLADE via email, text, phone, or in-app notification. You may also see your flight’s status by viewing Your Upcoming Trips.

Delays – Due to Weather or Other Circumstance
From time to time, your flight may be delayed due to weather, unforeseen mechanical issues, temporary flight restrictions, and airport/heliport congestion. If your flight is canceled or delayed, you will be notified by Team BLADE via email, text, phone, or in-app notification. 
 

  • When you would be notified of changes to your flight: BLADE will notify you of any delays or cancellations due to weather at least two hours prior to your scheduled departure time. For changes in flight schedules, BLADE will send out notifications via text and email in case of weather delays or cancelations.
  • Weather Cancelations: If there are cancellations due to bad weather or any other factor on one or both sectors of your journey before departure - BLADE will refund the full amount of the originally-purchased fare. After departure, if your flight is diverted or returns to your point of origin due to inclement weather, unforeseen mechanical issues, temporary flight restrictions, and airport/heliport congestion en route, there will be no refund on your flight bookings.
  • Flights rescheduled for an earlier departure time: If BLADE has to move your flight to a time 2 hours or more earlier than your scheduled departure time due to weather, unforeseen mechanical issues, or Temporary Flight Restrictions and you are unable to make the newly scheduled flight, BLADE will refund the full amount for the originally-purchased fare. BLADE’s Cancellation Policy outlined in the Terms of Service shall apply to anyone canceling their tickets on a Flight delayed less than 2 hours from departure.
  • Excessive Delays, Inter City: In the event, that any Flight is delayed more than 2 hours from departure – you have the option of:
    • Canceling your flight and receiving a full refund. BLADE’s Cancellation Policy outlined in the Terms of Service shall apply to anyone canceling their tickets on a Flight delayed less than 2 hours from departure.
    • We will arrange for a vehicle as an alternate mode of transportation to your destination on us, based on availability. (Approximate lead time to arrange for transportation is 2 hours)

Factors Determining Weather Cancellations or Delays
There are several factors in the decision of whether a flight will be canceled due to inclement weather:
1. Aircraft Type
Each type of aircraft has different inclement weather-flying capabilities.

  • Superior: Fixed-wing Aircraft (Turboprops and Jets) - Fixed-wing aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules can operate when the cloud ceiling is over 500 feet along the entire flight path, subject to Air Traffic Control delays. These fixed-wing aircraft are a great option for those prolonged monsoon months over the Indian subcontinent.
  • Solid: VFR Helicopter (Airbus H125, Bell series: 206, 407, and 505) - Helicopters operating under Visual Flight Rules can operate when the cloud ceiling is over 1,500 feet and visibility is greater than 5smi along the entire flight path.

2. Pilot's Decision
Pilots make the final determination as to whether a flight will occur or whether one in progress will be diverted to another airport. While weather conditions for flight must be within DGCA regulations and operator rules, pilots may unilaterally choose to cancel or divert a flight based on their own judgment of the safety of the immediate and forthcoming weather conditions.

3. Thunder
Thunderstorms can be unpredictable. Sometimes they can be circumvented, but it is up to the pilot.

4. Weather Along Entire Flight Path
Sometimes the weather will look fine at the origin and destination but it’s also important to consider the weather on the flight path. If there is weather along the flight path sometimes the aircraft can fly around it, sometimes it can divert to a different destination, and sometimes the flight may be canceled altogether.
When flying over hilly terrain, the flight path may get contaminated with low-lying fog and low visibility. Excessive temperature (heat waves) may also affect the aircraft's performance and also attribute to weather delays and changes in our scheduled flights during the peak hours of the day.

For more help, see our Frequently Asked Questions.