Airline tickets refund: SC directs airlines to fully refund airfares for the tickets canceled during lockdown
In a stray incident, the only Air India recently refunded airfare to almost all the passengers for its August 27 New Delhi – Incheon (Korea) flight as some Indians raise their voice in Korea, and no other airlines has been kind enough with its flyer, and continue to sit on their airfares.
NEW DELHI: Its good news for thousands of flyers waiting for the refund of their canceled domestic and international air tickets as India’s Supreme Court has directed all the airlines to make a refund of air tickets for travel during the COVID-19 lockdown period from March 25 to May 24 within three weeks from the date of the cancellation of flights.
The apex court ruled that if the tickets were booked through an agent for travel within the lockdown period, in all such cases full refund shall be given by the airlines immediately and the amount shall be passed on immediately by the agent to the passengers.
According to sources all airlines owe over Rs. 3000 crores to the flyers who were issued credit shells against tickets canceled for flights during and after the national lockdown. They have been waiting for a refund for over six months.
“If on account of financial distress, any airline/airlines are not able to refund then they shall provide credit shell, equal to the amount of fare collected, in the name of the passenger when the booking is done either directly by the passenger or through a travel agent so as to consume the same on or before March 31, 2021”, stated the court in its recent order.
The court further stated, it was open to passengers either to utilise such credit shell up to March 31, 2021, on any route of choice or transfer the credit shell to any person including the travel agent concerned, and the airlines shall honour such a transfer.
“We also feel that such formulations are workable solutions in these peculiar circumstances which are prevailing in the country,” said a joint bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah.
It said that the suggestions and formulations arrived at the meeting held by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA), Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which are acceptable to the majority of stakeholders have to be implemented in letter and spirit.
The SC delivered the verdict while responding to petitions filed by NGOs and passenger associations, seeking a complete refund of ticket fare for the flights canceled.
However, in a stray incident, the cash-strapped and state-owned airline Air India recently refunded airfare to almost all the passengers for its August 27 New Delhi – Incheon (Korea) flight, and that too within a few days. The majority of this passengers were denied to board the plane at the last moment as South Korea had restricted the entry of a select category of flyers into its territory, and the message was not communicated to the flyers including women and children who had reached the New Delhi airport to board the plane.
Facing the flak from the flyers from across the world for not returning the airfares amounting to hundreds of crores of Rupees against ticket cancellations during and after the lockdown period, India’s national carrier Air India had set an example of sorts in South Korea.
Also read: Air India refunds airfare to the passengers of goofed-up August 27 India-to-Korea flight
