No flights till further orders, reiterates minister, but airlines say can't hold indefinitely

Apr 20,2020

No flights till further orders, reiterates minister, but airlines say can't hold indefinitely

Even as aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday reiterated that flight restrictions would continue until lockdown restrictions would be in place, airlines have hinted that they might not keep bookings on hold for an indefinite period. "As of now, we are not taking bookings till May end, but we are going ahead with June's bookings. We cannot hold bookings for an indefinite period," an airline official told THE WEEK on condition of anonymity.

The airlines seem to be unfazed despite repeated statements from the aviation ministry as well as regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). On Monday, Puri reiterated the government's decision on suspension of both domestic and international flights in the country. "Since some airlines did not heed our advisory and opened bookings and started collecting money from flyers, a directive was issued to them on April 19 restraining them from doing so," the minister said, adding, "They were also informed that they will be given sufficient notice and time to commence bookings."

Puri claimed that his ministry's views and approach on restarting flights have been clearly stated. "On April 2, I said 'a decision to restart flights after this period remains to be taken' and reiterated this on April 5. On April 14, when the lockdown was extended, I said 'we can CONSIDER lifting restrictions' after lockdown," Puri tweeted from his official handle. "On April 18, I again said 'so far no decision has been taken to open domestic and international operations' and reiterated on April 19 that 'no decision has been taken so far to commence domestic & international operations."

His tweets follow a notification from the DGCA on Sunday evening that restricted all airlines to accept booking after May 4. The notification came after national passenger carrier Air India on Saturday notified on its website that it has started taking bookings on select domestic routes, including major metros, from May 4, and for international travel from June 1. 

At the same time, most of the airlines are still waiting for a formal order from the civil aviation ministry regarding the continuity of flight restrictions. Despite the minister's advice, several airlines were accepting bookings after May 3. However, none of the airlines have released official statements yet.