THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: World over, air passengers have been directed by various governments, including India, to cancel or reschedule their travel plans in the wake of the Corona outbreak.
However, the Centre is yet to issue an order asking the airlines to waive off penalties or other charges levied for ticket cancellations, refund and reissue or ticket rescheduling process at a time when lakhs of air passengers are forced to drop their travel plans midway.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has recently asked domestic carriers to consider providing flight cancellation option without any fee to customers who are looking for cancelling their journey in the wake of the national and international advisories. But this request is not legally binding and airlines are free to heed or disregard the requests.
Considering the request, some airlines have announced that they are ready to waive the cancellation fee in the event of rescheduling or cancellation of journey. But not many are aware that most of the tickets booked by passengers fall in the category of ‘non-refundable’.
Majority of the tickets booked fall under the category of non-refundable. When a passenger searches for tickets in an online site, his or her first priority would be to get a ticket at the lowest fare. But a majority of the tickets available in the lowest fare bucket have a lot of conditions, including non-refundable tag. Many passengers do not mind this clause as they are determined to travel.
It is in the time such disasters that this issue comes to the notice of passengers. But a majority who were taken for a ride by the airlines would not bother to go after the issue considering the time, energy and money involved to get justice in these cases, say experts.
Speaking to TNIE, Biji Eapen, national president, IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), said, “We have requested Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Sing Puri to intervene and issue necessary directives to all airlines operating in India (To/From/Within) to treat the current situation as a ‘natural calamity’ under ‘Force Majeure’ and waive off all the corresponding penalties/ fees or other charges levied for ticket cancellations, refund, and reissue or rescheduling process.”
Moreover, for tickets issued with the clause ‘ non-refundable’, the authorities should permit refund without cancellation charges (penalty) or provide an alternative for crediting the same amount to the passenger for future travel on the same airline, he said.
To aid the passengers in distress, the IATA Agents Association of India launched a platform to provide free consultation and guidance. Travellers facing any problems in this juncture can access ‘IAAI- Passenger Grievances Forum’, the unique initiative of IATA Agents Association of India at passengerforum@iaai.in for free consultation and guidance.
Bound by several conditions
Majority of the tickets booked fall under the category of non-refundable. When a passenger searches for tickets in an online site, the priority would be to get a ticket at the lowest fare. But most of them available in lowest fare bucket have conditions.