Air India passengers to get full refund for cancelled flights

Air India has decided to provide a full refund of tickets which were booked between March 23 and May 31 and allowed to re-book for flights anytime up to August 24, 2020.

New Delhi: In a major relief to passengers, national carrier Air India on Sunday decided to provide full refund of tickets which were booked between March 23 and May 31 and allowed to re-book for flights anytime up to August 24, 2020.

"In case of refunds, cancellation charges will stand waived and passengers will be eligible for full refund," Air India said in a communication on May 31.

Air India

"Any passenger holding Air India confirmed tickets with travel dates during the lockdown period ie. 23 March 2020 to 31 May 2020 and have had their flight cancelled will be allowed to book in available flights for the period 25 May 2020 till 24 August 2020 at no extra charge," the airline said.

However, according to travel agents, Air India has yet not opened up its bookings for travel after June.

An online travel agent said, "It is surprising to see that all other airlines have opened bookings beyond 24 August and Air India, which is yet to open up its booking schedule for July, is willing to reissue tickets for travel till 24 August."

Notably, the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had asked the carriers to refund only those tickets that were booked from March 25 to April 14 for travel between 25 March and 3 May.

The government grounded flights from 25 March to contain the spread of Covid-19 and domestic flight operations in the country resumed from May 25, after a two-month-long gap.