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COVID-19: This is why government suspended domestic travel by planes and trains

India is on stage 2 of the coronavirus spread which means people with an international travel history and their contacts have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). But, some reports suggested that people were risking the lives of others by slipping out from the home quarantine and using public transport. Soon after Indian Railways learned that at least 12 coronavirus positive people travelled through the trains, the officials suspended all operations in the nation till March 31, announcing full refund of the tickets will be given to the affected passengers. Now, the government has suspended domestic air travel with immediate effect. The call has been taken after it was learned that people were boarding flights in a bid to move to small towns and villages where the effect of COVID-19 is almost nil. People were seen shifting to small towns or home towns to ensure their safety, but it was more of a risk as any of the infected people who may have travelled from major cities to small towns could have been a possible carrier of the virus to such places. While all commercial travel has been banned in both trains and planes till March 31, the good trains and Cargo operations at the airports will remain operational to ensure proper supply of food to all places in India. 30 States and Union Territories have been put under lockdown to break the chain and spread of novel coronavirus in India, where 468 confirmed cases have been reported with 10 deaths.

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Government Covid-19 advisory on travel and visa restrictions

To prevent the coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has released an advisory on travel and visa restrictions. 1. All regular (sticker) Visas or e-Visa (including VoA for Japan and South Korea) granted to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea, Japan and issued on or before March 3, 2020, and who have not yet entered India, stand suspended with immediate effect. Such foreign nationals may not enter India from any Air, Land or Seaport ICPs. Those requiring to travel to India due to compelling reasons may seek fresh visa from the nearest Indian Embassy or Consulate. 2. Regular (sticker) visa or e-Visa granted to nationals of the Peoples Republic of China issued on or before February 05, 2020 were suspended earlier. It shall remain in force. Such Chinese nationals may not enter India from any Air, Land or Seaport ICPs. Those needing to travel to India under compelling circumstances may apply for fresh visa to the nearest Indian Embassy or Consulate. 3. Regular (sticker) visas or e-Visas granted to all foreign nationals who have travelled to Peoples Republic of China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, and Japan on or after February 01, 2020, and who have not yet entered India stand suspended with immediate effect. Such foreign nationals may not enter India from any Air, Land or Seaport ICPs. Those requiring to travel to India under compelling circumstances may apply for fresh visa to the nearest Indian Embassy or Consulate. 4. Diplomats, officials of UN and other international bodies, OCI cardholders, and Aircrew from the above countries are exempted from such restriction on entry. However, their medical screening is compulsory. 5. All foreign and Indian nationals entering into India from any port are required to furnish duly filled self-declaration form (including personal particulars i.e. phone no. and address in India) and travel history, to Health officials and Immigration officials at all port. 6. Passengers (foreign and Indian) other than those restricted, arriving directly or indirectly from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, and Taiwan must undergo medical screening at the port of entry.

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India’s tourism players seek financial relief from government

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), a conglomeration of ten national hotel and tourism bodies, has sought the assistance of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi to weather the financial fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Highlighting how the tourism sector are in the throes of a deep-seated downturn amid the virus outbreak, the umbrella body urged Modi in a letter to offer relief measures to the sector, including a deferment for 12 months of all statuary dues, be it GST, advance tax payments, customs duties at the central or state government level. The association also requested a support fund for 12 months to help cover basic salaries, with “direct transfers” to affected tourism employees. “We request for a 12-month moratorium on our EMIs (Equated Monthly Instalments) of principal and interest payments on loans and working capital from financial institutions (both banking and non-banking). Additionally, we request the doubling of our working capital limits and on interest-free and collateral-free terms. This will prevent all our tourism businesses from going bankrupt,” the letter read. A video conference was held at the Prime Minister Office on March 23 to take stock of the impact of the pandemic on businesses and address economic challenges that have emerged. “We expect that some measures that will offer relief to the tourism industry will be announced soon. The first impact of coronavirus has been on our industry. Challenges at present are huge and we are fearing that the retrenchment of staff by some travel agencies is inevitable. Agencies in a situation of no cash flow are not in a position to pay salaries,” said Jyoti Mayal, president, Travel Agents Association of India. She added that senior staff at some travel agencies have taken salary cuts to help with cash flow, while many are worried that airlines may not offer refunds on air tickets booked on behalf of their clients The Indian government, which has already banned international flights for a week from Sunday, has also indefinitely suspended domestic commercial flights from March 25. “We have been one of the largest job creators, however today, we are in a situation which will saw significant job losses. We hope that the industry will be supported by a financial package. We also wish that tax collection at source, which is slated to be implemented on April 1 on overseas travel packages, will be rolled back,” said Ajay Jaipuria, founder, Travel Oyster India, who is also a board member of the national tourism committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Sarbendra Sarkar, founder and managing director, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts, added: “While we are grateful to the government for proactively taking effective measures to contain the virus from spreading rapidly, we are hoping that they will introduce new policies to revive the hospitality industry. What would really help us is a cut in the current GST rates and a tax-free period.”

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Know GoAir’s latest cancellation, reschedule policy, helpline

One of the leading airlines in India, GoAir has announced its latest flight ticket cancellation policy in the wake of the spread of deadly Coronavirus COVID-19 across the country. Most parts of India have been witnessing unprecedented lockdown due to the deadly virus which has infected over 160 countries around the world. While, train, bus services have been suspended, domestic flights are allowed to fly. In this scenario, Go Air has listed out its flight ticket policy and helpline for the convenient of its passengers. Go Air has cancelled all flights from Delhi Airport (DEL), Mumbai Airport (BOM), and Bengaluru Airport (BLR) with flight numbers like G8 33, G8 34, G8 43, G8 44, G8 23, and G8 24 have been cancelled until April 15, 2020. Go Air had cancelled all its flights for March 22 keeping in mind the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for ‘Janta Curfew’. The airline has issued rescheduling guidelines for travel between March 19 and April 15, 2020 and April 15 and September 30, 2020. “No need for the passenger to call GoAir or their travel agent prior to departure. Passengers can simply not show up for their flight. All tickets will 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 will be applied, if applicable,” Go Air said in a statement “Rescheduling charges are waived to reschedule the ticket for any flight until September 30 (Passenger name and sector have to be the same). Fare differential will be applied, if applicable. Rescheduling may be made directly via the “Manage Booking” option on the website or by calling the contact centre at 1800 2100 999,” Go Air said in a statement. If flyers have booked flight tickets via travel agents, they need to contact their travel agents in order to reschedule or cancel flights.

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Airlines cancel more flights due to coronavirus travel restrictions

Airlines cancelled more flights on Monday, as Australia and New Zealand warned against non-essential domestic travel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) halted flights for two weeks and Singapore and Taiwan banned foreign transit passengers in the coronavirus battle. As demand evaporates, the number of scheduled flights last week was down more than 12 percent globally from the year earlier, flight data provider OAG said, with many airlines having announced further cuts to come. "It is a war against a virus," Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "What we have to do is take care of the institutions and people's livelihoods, the soft capital, so that we can restart effectively in a timely way when the time comes." Ratings agency Moody's estimated global capacity would fall by 25 percent to 35 percent this year, assuming the spread of the virus slowed by the end of June. The UAE, home to major carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways, said it would suspend all passenger flights and airport transit for two weeks to help rein in the virus. The decision takes effect in 48 hours, it added, with cargo and emergency evacuation flights exempted. Emirates said on its website it would temporarily suspend all passenger services for two weeks starting March 25 due to the government directive. Singapore Airlines Ltd had been planning to halve its international capacity before the Asian city-state banned entry or transit by short-term visitors on Sunday. It stepped that up to a cut of 96 percent through at least the end of April, responding to what the carrier on Monday called the greatest challenge it has faced in its existence. Softbank Corp to sell upto $41 billion to expand share buyback, reduce debtMore than 14,500 dead globally due to coronavirus pandemic Airlines cancelled more flights on Monday, as Australia and New Zealand warned against non-essential domestic travel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) halted flights for two weeks and Singapore and Taiwan banned foreign transit passengers in the coronavirus battle. As demand evaporates, the number of scheduled flights last week was down more than 12 percent globally from the year earlier, flight data provider OAG said, with many airlines having announced further cuts to come. "It is a war against a virus," Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "What we have to do is take care of the institutions and people's livelihoods, the soft capital, so that we can restart effectively in a timely way when the time comes." Ratings agency Moody's estimated global capacity would fall by 25 percent to 35 percent this year, assuming the spread of the virus slowed by the end of June. The UAE, home to major carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways, said it would suspend all passenger flights and airport transit for two weeks to help rein in the virus. The decision takes effect in 48 hours, it added, with cargo and emergency evacuation flights exempted. Emirates said on its website it would temporarily suspend all passenger services for two weeks starting March 25 due to the government directive. Singapore Airlines Ltd had been planning to halve its international capacity before the Asian city-state banned entry or transit by short-term visitors on Sunday. It stepped that up to a cut of 96 percent through at least the end of April, responding to what the carrier on Monday called the greatest challenge it has faced in its existence. "Without a domestic segment, the group's airlines become more vulnerable when international markets increasingly restrict the free movement of people or ban air travel altogether," it said, announcing plans to ground most of its fleet. The airline normally relies heavily on connecting passengers from markets such as Australia to Europe and India to North America through its hub. Singapore Airlines would look to defer aircraft deliveries and has drawn on lines of credit to meet immediate cashflow requirements, it added. Taiwan announced similar curbs that will hit China Airlines Ltd and EVA Airways Corp, which have marketed Taipei as a convenient and affordable transit airport, competing with Hong Kong and Singapore. In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd has cut its passenger capacity by 96% in April and May as government curbs hit travel. Planemaker Airbus announced new steps to bolster its financial position, including the signing of a credit facility for 15 billion euros ($16.1 billion). Airbus added it was withdrawing its 2020 financial guidance, dropping a proposed 2019 dividend that had a cash value of 1.4 billion euros and suspending funding to top up staff pension schemes. In the southern hemisphere, Qantas Airways Ltd, Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd and Air New Zealand Ltd were re-examining domestic schedules after their governments advised against non-essential domestic travel. Regional Express Holdings Ltd (REX), which serves remote Australian towns, said it would shut all operations, except some subsidised routes, from April 6, unless governments quickly expressed a willingness to underwrite its losses. Australia's largest airport operator, Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd, wants to cut capital spending from a forecast A$350 million to A$450 million ($200 to $257 million), so as to focus only on critical projects, it said on Monday. In Hawaii, which ordered 14 days in quarantine for all arrivals from Thursday, Hawaiian Airlines said it would suspend most long-haul passenger services except for a daily flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles and a weekly flight to American Samoa. In mainland China, the first to have been hit by the virus, domestic capacity has been rising as some internal curbs are eased, but there are concerns that passengers on international flights could re-import the virus. China's aviation regulator said all international flights due to arrive in the capital will be diverted from Monday to other airports in the country. More than 570,000 flights to, from and within, China alone were cancelled from Jan. 1 to March 16, flight data provider Cirium says.

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Singapore Airlines slashes 96% of capacity as coronavirus curbs travel demand

The company along with its two subsidiaries -- SilkAir and Scoot -- will ground 185 aircraft out of a total 196, which includes Airbus SE A380s and Boeing Co 787s, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) said in a statement. The Singapore Airlines on Monday said it will cut 96 per cent of its capacity that had been scheduled up to the end of April due to the tightening of border controls around the world to stem the coronavirus outbreak. The company along with its two subsidiaries — SilkAir and Scoot — will ground 185 aircraft out of a total 196, which includes Airbus SE A380s and Boeing Co 787s, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) said in a statement. The move comes “amid the greatest challenge that the SIA Group has faced in its existence”, it said. The company said it is unclear when it can begin to resume normal services, given the uncertainty as to when the stringent border controls will be lifted. “The resultant collapse in the demand for air travel has led to a significant decline in SIA’s passenger revenues,” the statement said The SIA said it is actively taking steps to build up its liquidity, and to reduce capital expenditure and operating costs, which include salary cut of board directors and implementation of a voluntary no-pay leave scheme for staff up to certain management positions. The company is also in talks with aircraft manufacturers to defer upcoming deliveries, in the hopes of delaying payment for those consignments. The airlines has drawn on its lines of credits to meet its immediate cash flow requirements. It is also in discussions with several financial institutions on its future funding requirements. The company said it continues to explore measures to shore up its liquidity during this unprecedented disruption to global air travel. Many airlines across the globe have resorted to capacity cuts by over 90 per cent as COVID-19 infections cross 300,000 and death toll nears 15,000. Some countries and cities are under lockdown as part of measures to contain the viral outbreak, halting much of global transport.

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