Coronavirus scare: Airlines cut international flights from Kochi

As the scare over coronavirus spreads, airline companies are announcing flight cancellations to not just the hot spots of the epidemic but even relatively unaffected regions.
Passengers wearing face mask to guard against coronavirus. (Photo| EPS/ Biswanath Swain)
Passengers wearing face mask to guard against coronavirus. (Photo| EPS/ Biswanath Swain)

KOCHI: As the scare over coronavirus spreads, airline companies are announcing flight cancellations to not just the hot spots of the epidemic but even relatively unaffected regions.

While Singapore Airlines has cut down the daily frequency of flights from Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) from two to one after the outbreak of coronavirus was detected last month, Saudi Airlines has cancelled its flight to Jeddah on March 8, 9, 10 and 13. Malaysian airlines Malindo Air earlier cancelled its flights from CIAL to Kaula Lumpur on its scheduled days (March 9, 10, 14). Its flights on March 2 and 4 were also cancelled.

Officials at leading travel agencies reckoned that both Malindo Air and Saudi Airlines are likely to extend the dates to the end of this month. If the COVID-19 spread continues, there are chances that more flights will announce cancellations, they said.

“The airline companies are refunding the full amount to the passengers after the cancellations,” said an official at Akbar Travels, a leading travel agency. She said airline companies are cancelling flights to corona-affected destinations such as Rome and even Singapore, which is relatively unaffected.

“Singapore has made it clear that people should not travel unless it’s unavoidable. Singapore Airlines has cut down its two flights per day from Cochin airport to one,” said an official at Riya Travels, another leading travel agency.

According to travel agents, Kuwait Airlines, Qatar Airlines and Emirates are seeing a lot of cancellations from the travellers. Interestingly, the air fares have seen about 5-7 per cent increase for the nearest travel dates, despite the fall in the number of flyers.

“It seems airlines are making up for the loss of business due to the drop in the number of flyers,” said the official.Babu Paul, general manager of Speedwing Travels, a travel agent, expects other regions such as the UAE to announce travel restrictions soon, after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

From Sunday, passengers have to compulsorily undergo a complete medical examination and obtain a PCR medical certificate from the health centres approved by the Kuwait Embassy in India certifying that the travellers are free from coronavirus before entering the Gulf country. “Similar restrictions may be announced by the UAE too soon. If that happens, we may have more flight cancellations,” he said.

Madhav Pai, CMD of Wow Holidays, however, expects the situation to revert to normal by April, when the travel season starts. “International travel season will start only from April and the travellers are assessing the impact of coronavirus now. They are not keen on cancellations at this juncture. However, there are uncertainties in the air and people are keeping their fingers crossed,” he said.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com