Vistara starts offering travel insurance to passengers on all flights

Full-service carrier Vistara, which completed seven years of its operations on 9 January, stated on Friday that it has entered into an association with Allianz Partners to provide optional travel insurance to its passengers. "Effective 16 February, Vistara customers have the option to avail travel insurance while booking their domestic or international flights," read the airline's statement. The optional travel insurance coverage will provide protection in various cases such as trip cancellations and interruptions, significant travel delays, missed connections, medical emergencies abroad and baggage issues, it noted. Insured customers will also be covered for medical emergencies including Covid-related illnesses, mandatory personal quarantine, and denial of boarding due to a suspected illness. While the option is currently only available to Indian citizens residing in India, it will be extended to other global markets, including Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Europe in the second phase over the course of the year. The airline had earlier in January said that its fleet has crossed 50 aircraft with over 12 planes added in the last 21 months alone despite pandemic challenges. In addition to this, Vistara said it has flown 30 million passengers since its launch on 9 January 2015 in both domestic and overseas markets. The Delhi-based airline, which is a 51:49 joint venture between India's salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group and south-east Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, started flying on international routes in August 2019.