New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Saturday asked airlines to monitor and take necessary action in case of any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar, in view of the train accident in the state.
Besides, the ministry said that any cancellation and rescheduling of flights due to the incident may be done without penal charges. The ministry has sent out an advisory to the airlines in this regard. "In view of the unfortunate accident in Odisha, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has advised all airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports of the State and take necessary action regarding the same," it said in a statement.
The ministry also advised airlines not to levy penal charges for cancellation, rescheduling of air tickets in wake of the tragedy. The ministry has also asked all airlines flying in and out of Odisha to extend full support to facilitate in bringing back the remains of those deceased in the train accident to other states, of which the victims were resident, as per their extant policy.
At least 288 people have died in one of the worst accidents involving three trains that happened at Balasore, in Odisha on Friday night. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,000 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.
Also read: In pics | Odisha train tragedy: Challenge now is identifying bodies, say officials
