Domestic Flight Cancellation due to Coronavirus: Customers Fume Over High Cancellation Charges, Airlines Helpless

While the uncertainty over the status of scheduled flights due to the Coronavirus outbreak looms large, most airline companies seem helpless about the situation and are not waiving off the domestic flight cancellation charges. With new advisories coming in from the Government of India every now and then to curb the spread of Coronavirus, both customers and Airline companies find themselves in a tough spot and are unable to take a definite decision. Nevertheless, several customers who have booked their flights during these unsettled times, seem to be furious over being unable to reach customer care numbers of Airline companies. Travelers are also hoping for a full refund upon cancellation of tickets, and are also requesting the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to look into the matter. Passengers are also upset about the fact that they have lost nearly half the amount they originally paid for their tickets as domestic flight cancellation charges. “I had booked for 22 March from Visakhapatnam to Delhi and return from Chandigarh to Visakhapatnam on 9 April paid about Rs 10,000. On enquiring about refund after cancellation as I am a senior citizen and my tours are cancelled due to Coronavirus, I am informed that cancellation charges of Rs 3150 per sector which will be total Rs 9450 plus GST five percent that will be around zero refund. They are quoting the regular cancellation charges and do not have any consideration for the situation at hand. This is very shallow thinking. I had to be online waiting for more than one hour and then some more and was not provided the opportunity to talk to a senior person. Airlines need to step up to the plate and do better,” says Kumari Voleti. However, what seems to have made the situation all the more complicated is the Janata Curfew on 22 March 2020 and the Delhi Government announcing the suspension of all domestic and international flights into the Union Territory from 23 to 31 March 2020. Airline companies have also reported experiencing five times the call volumes and a higher number of social media mentions. While airline companies are still not providing a full refund, GoAir has forwarded an email to its customers stating that for new and existing bookings of travel between 19 March and 15 April 2020 there was “no need for the passenger to call GoAir or their travel agent prior to departure. Passengers could simply not show up for their flight, and still : All tickets would be protected and passengers can reschedule their travel without any fees for up to one year from the original date of travel The new ticket will be issued for the same passenger name for any GoAir flight (not necessarily the original sector the passenger booked their ticket on) without any rescheduling fee. Fare differential, if applicable, would be applied.”