IndiGo refunds over 1000 cr for lockdown cancellations

Following the Supreme Court order to refund fares booked for travel until 24 May 2020, IndiGo on Wednesday said it has refunded credit shell for 99.5% of those passengers whose flights were cancelled during the two-month flight ban due to the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown.

New Delhi: IndiGo on Wednesday said it has refunded credit shell for 99.5% of those passengers whose flights were cancelled during the two-month flight ban due to the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown.

"The airline has already processed close to Rs 1,030 crore of refunds, which amounts to about 99.95% of the total amount owed to its customers. The pending credit shells are mostly cash transactions wherein Indigo is awaiting bank transfer details from the customers," IndiGo said on Wednesday.

IndiGo CEO Ronjoy Dutta said that the sudden onset of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown, brought our operations to a complete halt by the end of March of 2020. As our incoming cash flow through ticket sales got impacted, we were unable to immediately process refunds for cancelled flights and had to create credit shells for the refunds that were due to our customers.

"However, with the resumption of operations and a steady increase in demand for air travel, our priority has been to refund the credit shell amounts in an expedited manner. We are pleased to share that we have disbursed 99.5% credit shell payments and will complete the remaining as soon as we receive requisite details from the customers," he added.

A spokesperson for the budget airline said that refunds are governed by the order of the Supreme Court and they adhering to those directions. Notably, many airlines are yet to refund the payment of the passengers who booked the flight tickets for the lockdown period.

Last September, the Supreme Court directed airlines to immediately refund fares booked for travel until 24 May 2020. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had on 16 April also ordered the airlines to immediately refund tickets booked during the first phase of lockdown from 25 March to 14 April.

The apex court had said that only the airlines in financial distress could issue credit shell vouchers till March 31, 2021. After this, they will have to refund the credit shell amount with enhanced value.