All the commercial aviation activities in India were stopped on March 23, 2020. It was initially planned that the airline activities would resume post-March, 2020, that didn’t happen. The Indian government imposed a lockdown in the whole country, and every airline had to ground its operations until April 14, 2020. It has happened for the first time that not a single flight took off on the commencement of summer schedule. All the airlines have been crunched over the shortage of cash. There is no clear direction from the government about whether the lockdown will be extended and the airlines will be grounded for more time or if normal operations will be resumed.
Airlines Coming Up With Unique Offers To Counter The Situation
COVID-19 has caused a crisis for Indian aviation; many airlines are coming out with unique offers to counter the situation. GoAir said that if you couldn’t board your flight because of lockdown, the PNR assigned to you will have a credit shell of the basic fare which you paid to make the booking. You can redeem this anytime within one year. None of the airlines is refunding the money to the customers who couldn’t board their flight.
Crisis For Indian Aviation Might Extend
The government has not sought out a relief package for the airlines in distress. There is no clear indication about the lowdown extending as well. If the lockdown were to continue, more money of the customers would be locked down with the airlines. Though this will be good for the airlines which are in a cash crunch, it isn’t exactly the best way to go about maintaining cash flow. DGCA has been supporting the Indian airlines and has not pursued the suit filed against the airlines for giving money back to the customers.
