New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday said all international and domestic commercial passenger flights will remain suspended till midnight of May 3.
The decision comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till May 3 to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Domestic and international commercial passenger flights were earlier suspended from March 25 to April 14.
"All domestic and international scheduled airlines operation shall remain suspended till 11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020," the ministry tweeted.
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All domestic and international scheduled Airlines operations shall remain suspended till 11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020.
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) April 14, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">All domestic and international scheduled Airlines operations shall remain suspended till 11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020.
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) April 14, 2020All domestic and international scheduled Airlines operations shall remain suspended till 11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020.
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) April 14, 2020
After the ministry's tweet, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there were good reasons for the lockdown to be extended till May 3.
"We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic and international flights thereafter. I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel and request them to bear with us," the minister tweeted.
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There were good reasons for the Lockdown to be extended till 3rd May.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 14, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic & international flights thereafter.
I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel & request them to bear with us.
">There were good reasons for the Lockdown to be extended till 3rd May.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 14, 2020
We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic & international flights thereafter.
I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel & request them to bear with us.There were good reasons for the Lockdown to be extended till 3rd May.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 14, 2020
We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic & international flights thereafter.
I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel & request them to bear with us.
All major airlines except Air India said they were taking domestic bookings for dates after April 14. Air India is taking bookings for dates post April 30 only.
The civil aviation sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, Air Deccan became the latest casualty of the crisis as it announced indefinite suspension of flight operations and asked all employees to go on sabbatical without pay.
Read more:Railways extends suspension of passenger services till May 3
As revenues have fallen significantly due to the coronavirus crisis, IndiGo has announced a pay cut of up to 25 per cent for its senior employees and Vistara has announced a compulsory leave without pay of up to three days for its senior employees in March.
All major airlines except Air India said they were taking domestic bookings for dates after April 14. Air India is taking bookings for dates post April 30 only.
SpiceJet has stated that its employees' salaries would be reduced between 10 to 30 per cent and Air India has announced a 10 per cent cut in allowances for every employee, except cabin crew, for the coming three months.
GoAir has cut salaries of its employees, laid off its expat pilots and introduced leave without pay for employees on a rotational basis.
An aviation expert said, "like Indian Railways, the Civil Aviation Ministry should also clarify on the refunds for flights cancelled during the lockdown and now it is for sure that ticket prices will go up once the flight resumes post lockdown."
Last week, Aviation consultancy CAPA had asked the government to review the sale of tickets beyond April 14-15 midnight.
On April 2, Hardeep Singh Puri had said that airlines can take domestic bookings after 14 April, unless the current lockdown, which has been implemented to contain the spread of contagious covid-19 virus, is further extended.
"Revenues from aviation have come to zero across the world. Goverments throughout the world are trying to ensure that Airlines don't collapse. Airlines in India need short-term support from government. We are talking to them on a daily basis. It is an opportunity for structural reforms that we were trying for many years. Government can look at helping out airlines in payment of some salaries, exemption on airport charges for a period of time, credit with interest subvention," said SpiceJet chairman and MD Ajay Singh.
(With inputs from PTI)
