Web check-in for every Indian airline: IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa Air and Air India Express in one place (2026)
By Vihaan Patel (Vihaan Patel covers the intersection of travel and digital payments — Indian OTAs, airline-direct booking flows, UPI vs credit-card surcharges, RBI tokenisation rules and the booking-funnel mechanics that quietly cost (or save) you money.) · Published · 10 min read
Web check-in in India saves you money — IndiGo charges around ₹300 if you skip it and check in at the counter. This guide covers every major Indian airline's window, what to do if the portal misbehaves, and how DigiYatra now connects to the check-in flow.
TL;DR — the short answer
Web check-in for Indian airlines opens between 48 hours and 24 hours before departure depending on the carrier, and closes 60–75 minutes before departure. It is free to do yourself online; skipping it on IndiGo currently attracts a counter check-in fee in the range of ₹300 per passenger (the exact amount can change — verify on IndiGo's site). Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet all offer web check-in but have different windows. DigiYatra, the facial-recognition boarding system, now integrates with web check-in at major airports — you complete web check-in, then walk through a DigiYatra lane instead of showing a paper boarding pass.
Why web check-in matters more than you think
A lot of people treat web check-in as optional admin. It is not — at least not on IndiGo, which operates more domestic flights than all other Indian carriers combined. The airline shifted to a model where checking in at the airport counter is a paid service. That fee is real, it has been real for a few years, and it catches people every single day at Delhi and Mumbai airports. I have watched families scramble at counters at 5 AM because someone forgot to web check-in the night before.
Beyond the fee issue, web check-in also lets you pick a seat before the best ones are gone. Seat selection charges aside — those are a separate argument — at least locking in a seat before the airport means you know where you're sitting. And in 2026, DigiYatra integration means you can do the whole departure process almost paperlessly at supported airports (DEL, BOM, BLR, HYD, COK, and others — the list is growing).
IndiGo: 48 hours to 60 minutes before departure
IndiGo's web check-in window opens 48 hours before departure and closes 60 minutes before departure (75 minutes for international flights). You check in at goindigo.in or on the IndiGo app — you need your PNR and registered email/phone. If your name has a mismatch (common with OTA bookings where the traveller's legal name differs from what was entered), fix it before check-in or you will get stuck.
After checking in, you download or save your boarding pass. If you are checking a bag, you still queue at the Bag Drop counter — but Bag Drop queues at major airports are generally shorter and faster than check-in counters. If you are travelling carry-on only, you walk straight to security. The counter check-in fee for not doing web check-in is typically around ₹300 per passenger — this is the number that has caused the most complaints on social media. Always verify the current fee on goindigo.in since it can be revised.
Pro tip: web check-in also opens up a second round of free seat selection. If the free seats were limited when you booked, check the seat map again at the 48-hour mark — some preferred seats get released into the free tier at this stage.
Air India: 48 hours, and what Business Class passengers should know
Air India's web check-in opens 48 hours before departure for both domestic and international flights and closes 60 minutes before domestic departure / 90 minutes before international departure. Check in at airindia.com or the Air India app. If you booked through an OTA, your booking reference works the same as a direct booking reference at Air India's check-in portal.
Air India is the only Indian carrier where the check-in experience reflects a full-service airline meaningfully — you see meal pre-selection reminders, lounge access information for eligible passengers, and upgrade prompts. Business Class passengers get a dedicated check-in counter regardless of web check-in status, so the urgency to do it online is lower, though it still saves time at the airport.
One thing that trips people up: Air India Express (the budget subsidiary) has a different website and app from Air India. Don't try to check in for an Air India Express flight on the main Air India site — go to airindiaexpress.com. Air India Express's check-in window opens 24 hours before departure and closes 75 minutes before, with similar mechanics to IndiGo.
Akasa Air and SpiceJet: the rest of the field
Akasa Air opens web check-in 24 hours before departure and closes it 60 minutes before. Go to akasaair.com or the Akasa app. Akasa has been the cleanest booking and check-in experience of the LCCs I have used in 2025–26 — the seat map is clear, the process is genuinely fast. No counter check-in fee currently (as of mid-2026), but do verify — Akasa is still building out its policies and these can change.
SpiceJet has a chequered operational history in 2025–26 and its schedule has contracted significantly. Web check-in opens 48 hours before departure and closes 60 minutes before on spicejet.com or the SpiceJet app. SpiceJet has had website reliability issues during its restructuring period, so if the portal is misbehaving (more on this below), the workaround applies here more than anywhere else.
A quick reference table:
| Airline | Window opens | Closes before dep. | Counter fee? |
|---|---|---|---|
| IndiGo | 48 hrs | 60 min (dom) / 75 min (intl) | ~₹300 per pax |
| Air India | 48 hrs | 60 min (dom) / 90 min (intl) | Not typically charged |
| Air India Express | 24 hrs | 75 min | Check current policy |
| Akasa Air | 24 hrs | 60 min | Not currently charged |
| SpiceJet | 48 hrs | 60 min | Check current policy |
DigiYatra: what it is and how it connects to check-in
DigiYatra is the Indian government's facial-recognition-based boarding system, rolled out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) across major airports. At its core: you register once on the DigiYatra app (link your Aadhaar-based ID and a selfie), and thereafter you can enter the terminal, pass through security and board by walking through a camera lane that matches your face to your booking — no printed boarding pass needed.
The connection to web check-in: DigiYatra requires you to have a confirmed booking linked to your profile. At most airports, you still do your web check-in on the airline's site normally, then at the airport you use the DigiYatra lane instead of the regular entry gate. Your web check-in boarding pass is stored digitally, and DigiYatra confirms you against it. Some airports (Delhi T3 is the most mature) have DigiYatra lanes at the terminal entry gate, security and the boarding gate — all three. Others only have it at boarding.
Key caveats: DigiYatra is opt-in. If you do not register, nothing changes for you. If you do register, it works very well on good days — I have done the entire T3 process at Delhi in under 8 minutes without touching a phone or a boarding pass. But it occasionally has matching failures (usually in low-light conditions), so keep your boarding pass on your phone as backup. Also: DigiYatra data is supposed to be deleted after 24 hours per the privacy policy, but verify the current data handling policy on the DigiYatra app before registering if that matters to you.
What to do if the web check-in portal is down or errors out
It happens more than you would expect — airline sites buckle under load around public holidays and long weekends. Here is what actually works:
- Try the airline app instead of the website. The mobile app and the web portal are usually on different server infrastructure. If goindigo.in is choking, the IndiGo app often still works.
- Try a different browser / clear cookies. Saved login state can sometimes block the check-in flow on IndiGo. Log out, clear, try incognito.
- Call the airline. Airline call centres can manually mark you as checked in if the portal is down. You need your PNR, passenger names and the departure date. Have these ready. Yes, you might be on hold — call as early as you can.
- Screenshot/email proof of the error. If IndiGo's portal was demonstrably down and you are charged the counter fee, that screenshot is your evidence for a waiver request. Lodge a complaint via IndiGo's customer care email with the error screenshot — many passengers have gotten refunds of the counter fee this way.
- Airport kiosk. Most major airports have airline self-service kiosks that count as web check-in for fee-waiver purposes — you avoid the counter fee even if you did not do it at home.
Once you have your fare, it is easy to track and compare across dates using FlightGPT's AI flight search. For context on booking fees and what OTAs add on top, see our article on IndiGo's ₹300 counter fee and how to avoid it.
Bottom line
Web check-in is one of those things where a three-minute task the night before saves you money and aggravation at the airport. Set a calendar reminder at the 48-hour mark for IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet bookings. For Akasa and Air India Express, set the reminder at 24 hours. If you travel frequently enough to warrant it, DigiYatra is worth registering for — it legitimately speeds up the terminal experience at the airports where it is fully deployed. And if you are ever at the airport facing a counter fee because the portal was misbehaving, go to the kiosk first, document the failure, and escalate politely.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time window for web check-in on IndiGo flights?
IndiGo opens web check-in 48 hours before departure and closes it 60 minutes before (75 minutes for international flights). You can do it on goindigo.in or the IndiGo mobile app. Missing the window means you pay the counter check-in fee, currently around ₹300 per passenger — verify the exact amount on IndiGo's site as it can change.
Does Air India charge for airport check-in if I skip web check-in?
Air India does not currently impose a counter check-in surcharge of the kind IndiGo does. However, Air India Express (the budget arm) has a different policy — check airindiaexpress.com for the current position. Air India's web check-in is available 48 hours before departure on airindia.com or the Air India app.
Is DigiYatra mandatory for domestic flights in India?
No, DigiYatra is entirely opt-in. You register once on the DigiYatra app, link your ID and a facial scan, and then choose to use the DigiYatra lanes at participating airports (Delhi T3, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and others). If you do not register, you just use the regular security and boarding flow. It is particularly useful if you travel frequently through Delhi T3, where all three checkpoints support it.
Can I do web check-in for an IndiGo flight booked through MakeMyTrip or Cleartrip?
Yes. OTA bookings work the same way — take your PNR (the 6-character booking reference from the OTA confirmation), go to goindigo.in, and enter it along with your last name or registered email. The check-in flow is the same as a direct booking. If there is a name mismatch between the OTA booking and your ID, fix it with IndiGo customer care before checking in.
What happens if I miss web check-in on Akasa Air?
Akasa Air has not imposed a mandatory counter check-in fee as of mid-2026, unlike IndiGo. You can check in at the airport counter without an extra charge, though Akasa's official policy can evolve — verify on akasaair.com before your travel date. Akasa's web check-in opens 24 hours before departure.
Can DigiYatra replace the boarding pass entirely?
At airports where DigiYatra is fully deployed (like Delhi T3), yes — registered users walk through camera lanes at entry, security and the gate without showing a physical or digital boarding pass. That said, keep your boarding pass (on the airline app or a PDF) as backup in case of a matching failure, which does occasionally happen in poor lighting conditions.