Despite aviation minister's advise, private airlines continue bookings

Despite Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri advising the firms to open bookings only after a decision in this regard is taken by the government, private airlines have not stopped accepting advance booking for travel from May 4.

New Delhi: Private airlines have yet not stopped accepting advance bookings for travel from May 4, despite Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri advising the firms to open bookings only after a decision in this regard is taken by the government.

IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet websites show that they are taking bookings on select routes (mainly metro) such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. At the time of checking the ticket prices, ETV Bharat learnt that the ticket prices were normal on these routes as in comparison to the prices which were booked during the first phase of the coronavirus lockdown.

The national carrier Air India on Saturday announced opening up of bookings for select domestic and international routes starting May 4 and June 1 respectively. However, soon after Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri adivce to airlines to close advance bookings, the airline said that it has stopped taking further bookings.

Last Tuesday, IndiGo had announced that it would start flight operations in a phased manner from May 4.

“We shall await the Ministry’s notice in this regard. We have suspended operations and sales until 3 May, following the last circular. Once there is clarity on steps to take beyond the date, we will comply accordingly,” a Vistara spokesperson said in a response to a query by ETV Bharat.

Meanwhile, as per the sources, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may soon issue the directives to ensure implementation of the aviation ministry's last night order.

The first phase of the lockdown was from March 25 to April 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 extended the lockdown till May 3. All domestic and international commercial passenger flight operations have been suspended during the lockdown period.

Even after the suspension of flights, many airlines had accepted booking for domestic flights from April 15 onwards. But when the passengers demanded refund of their tickets, airlines said they will provide a credit shell equivalent to the booking amount to the affected passengers for use up to one year.

Following public outcry, the civil aviation ministry issued a partial relief order asking airlines to give full refund for flights cancelled during the extended lockdown. However, the Ministry has yet not clarified about the bookings done on and before March 24 for flights which were scheduled to operate between March 25 and May 3.