Bad news for air passengers, who had booked their air tickets before/during the lockdown, and expected a refund.
Various airlines executives and Govt officials have stated that it’s highly unlikely that the passengers will get their refund.
But why?
Airlines: We Don’t Have Money For Refund
Several airlines executives, along with Govt officials have stated that the airlines don’t have money now, and this is the reason why refunds worth Rs 3000 crore owed to the passengers won’t happen.
An unnamed Govt official said, “Airlines are going through their worst phase and forcing them to refund this amount would not be possible,”
He said that a ‘system’ needs to be implemented, which helps both passengers and airlines.
What Will Happen To The Refund Now?
Most of the airlines are now transferring the refund amount to a shell account, which can be used later by the passengers to book tickets.
Hence, the monetary refund of the money is not possible as of now, and the money can be only used to book future air tickets.
An unnamed airline official said, “It is not that the airlines have not returned the money. The money has been put in a shell,”
Now, it’s not clear about the validity of the money in the shell, and till how long the tickets can be booked.
And what if the passenger doesn’t wish to book tickets from that particular airline?
It seems no one has an answer.
What’s The Official Take?
SpiceJet: They have confirmed that SpiceJet has complied with all the rules mentioned by The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is the aviation regulator. They have stated that no other airlines in the world is issuing a full refund for the canceled tickets.
IndiGo: IndoGo has stated that they will follow the instructions and protocols as mentioned and shared by Govt officials over the refund issue.
Air India: They have already allowed rescheduling of all canceled tickets, without any extra cost.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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