If you don't turn up for a flight, you will either be rebooked on another flight, charged a cancellation fee or will lose the entire value of your ticket. Which of these happen will depend on the reasons you are missing the flight, the type of flight/ticket you have booked and whether or not you inform the airline.

If you do not show up for your flight (a "no-show"), you will not be "charged" an additional penalty fee in the sense of a new transaction on your credit card, but you will almost certainly lose the value of your ticket. Most airlines have a strict "No-Show Policy" which dictates that if you miss the first leg of a trip without notifying them, all subsequent flights on that same itinerary—including your return journey—will be automatically canceled without a refund. For non-refundable "Basic Economy" or "Saver" fares, the money you paid is essentially forfeited. For more flexible fares, the airline might allow you to apply the value toward a future flight, but they will deduct a significant "change fee" or "cancellation fee" (often $200 or more) from the original amount. As of 2026, some regions like India have introduced "look-in" periods for free cancellations, but these typically don't apply to a no-show situation. To protect your investment, it is always better to cancel or change your flight via the app or website before the departure time; even if the fare is non-refundable, you might still be able to reclaim the government taxes and airport fees that were included in your ticket price, which the airline is often legally required to return if the seat goes unused.