Airlines witness less bookings from Apr 15
   Date :03-Apr-2020

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By Ravi Chandpurkar :
 
ALTHOUGH domestic airlines have opened online ticket bookings for flights starting from April 15, it seems they are barely getting any response. Travel agents are saying that a lot of people who had planned to take out a trip or group tour have suddenly dropped their plans because of the outbreak of coronavirus in the country and abroad. Travel agents further said that the 21-day countrywide lockdown imposed by the Government has scared the customers and put fear in their minds to go out and interact with other people.
 
The lockdown will be ending on April 14 and airlines want to get the passengers on board and restart flights as early as possible. In the current panic-striken situation of coronavirus, there are not many takers for the air tickets due to several factors said sources in the industry on the condition of anonymity. Rumours are flying among the people that the Government may extend the lockdown period for another 15 days or a month. Due to this uncertainty, customers are not ready to book air tickets, sources said. Furthermore, customers who had booked air tickets earlier when the Government banned international and domestic travel faced big problem of air ticket refunds.
 
Till date there are still a large number of customers who have not received their refunds. Airlines are saying that they will reschedule tickets without charging extra fees. Even with these offers, people are not intimating future dates or rescheduling their tickets with the airlines. Most airlines have blocked their refund gateways to agents which is delaying the refund process, sources said. Similarly, Qatar Airlines has opened its booking window from May 31. It is also not getting any response from customers, said sources.
 
Till the lockdown ends, people can call their travel agents who are directly connected with the airlines and book tickets. Since all the offices are closed, travel agents will not be able to provide specialised services like Visa processing, foreign exchange and passport. Air India, Indigo and Go Air are the three airlines operating from Nagpur airport on the domestic routes. Nagpur airport handles about 800 to 1,000 air passengers and 8-10 flights daily. Air Arabia and Qatar Airlines are the two airlines offering international flights from the city. Until things become clear regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic major airlines will have tough time selling tickets to customers, sources added.