Airlines Are Selling Tickets, But Should You Book?

Soon after the extension of the nationwide lockdown, the government had instructed airlines not to take any advanced flight bookings. Despite the announcement, four of the six major carriers operating in India have already started selling their tickets for the post-lockdown period. But should we actually book them?

What’s Happening?

Indigo, Vistara, SpiceJet and Go Airlines have started accepting bookings from the third week of May, passing over the government orders. Indigo and Vistara are taking flight bookings from 1st June 2020, while the other two are selling tickets from 16th May. Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, however, has confirmed that no commercial flights will be permitted to run until the spread of the coronavirus has been curbed. The lifting of the travel ban is not being considered at the moment. Even during the previous lockdown period, domestic flights had started taking bookings from 15th to 30th April 2020. But due to huge losses, they couldn’t provide the refunds for the cancelled flights and ended up issuing pre-paid coupons with the same amount.

Also Read: Airlines To Give Pre-Paid Coupons Instead Of Refunds For Cancelled Flights

What’s More?

The obvious reason behind the airlines continuing to sell tickets is to generate the flow of cash. The coronavirus pandemic has been a huge blow to the global aviation industry. The revenue sources of its businesses worldwide have already dried up. Even top-notch companies like Europe’s Flybe Group Plc and Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. have collapsed after going bankrupt. If the bans continue without any financial help, many more companies might join the failure list. The airline industry in India might face a loss as whopping as $3.6 billion if the restrictions extend till June.

Also Read: 4 Airlines Have Asked Crew To Go On Unpaid Leave Due To Coronavirus

It’s your call now, whether to shell out money for these bookings or not. Because, no matter what happens, governments all across the world will consider heath as the first priority.