2023 handbook summarySource checked 29 July 2026
Air Journey Booking Rules for Official Travel
For Government-funded air travel, the handbook records that tickets must be booked through Balmer Lawrie, Ashok Travels & Tours or IRCTC from 1 January...
Overview
For Government-funded air travel, the handbook records that tickets must be booked through Balmer Lawrie, Ashok Travels & Tours or IRCTC from 1 January 2022. The traveller should select the best available fare in the entitled class, preferably a non-stop flight within the permitted time band.
What the handbook says
The source requires use of one of the three named authorised agents and says one selected agent should handle the tickets for a single tour. It records self-declared justification for tour bookings made less than 72 hours before travel and cancellations made less than 24 hours before travel.
It also requires a prescribed certificate or undertaking within seven days after the journey so that ticket payment and performance of travel can be confirmed. A specified senior authority may relax the authorised-agent condition in unavoidable circumstances.
What this means
The booking channel, timing and fare selection are separate from class entitlement. Confirm all four before purchase: the journey's sanction, the entitled class, an authorised booking channel and the best-available-fare requirement.
Who this applies to
- These rules apply where the Government of India bears the air-passage cost.
- The handbook does not permit routine booking through an unauthorised website or agent.
- A late booking or cancellation justification is not itself approval of an otherwise unauthorised journey.
- Relaxation is limited to the authority and circumstances stated in the governing order.
Rates and dates
- Authorised-agent requirement: recorded as effective 1 January 2022.
- Late tour booking threshold: less than 72 hours before intended travel.
- Late tour cancellation threshold: less than 24 hours before intended travel.
- Journey certificate or undertaking: within seven days after completion.
No airfare amount is fixed by these pages.
What you may need
- journey and air-travel sanction;
- ticket and fare details;
- boarding pass or other evidence accepted under the applicable order;
- late-booking or late-cancellation self-declaration where triggered; and
- prescribed post-journey certificate or undertaking.
Authorities and source references
- GoI, MoF, DoE letter No. 19024/03/2021-E.IV, 31 December 2021
- GoI, MoF, DoE OM No. 19024/03/2021-E.IV, 16 February 2022
- GoI, MoF, DoE letter No. 19024/03/2021-E.IV, 16 June 2022
- DoPT letter No. 31011/12/2022-Estt.A-IV, 29 August 2022
Related guidance
About this guidance
This is a plain-language summary for general information. It is not an official order or an authority for a claim. Confirm the applicable order and your individual eligibility with the competent authority or PCDA(O) before acting.