Think before you book flight tickets now

New Delhi, Apr 07: While there is no clarity on whether flight operations may resume after the lockdown is over, the new cancellation policy makes it clear that no refund will be issued if the flights are suspended because of the shut down.

As per this policy, the money will be held as credit and the passenger can travel anytime within a year. This means that if the lockdown is extended then passengers who have booked tickets to fly after April 15 may not get the refund.

The Centre has offered no clarity whether flights would be operational after April 15, the day the 21 day lockdown ends. Private airlines have opened bookings and even sent out promotional mails. However Air India has said that it would not be taking bookings until April 30.

Last week, Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said that the government is yet to take a decision on the resumption of flights. He had tweeted that reports of flight resumption after April 14 are a mere speculation.

Meanwhile several states have requested the Centre to extend the lockdown. Sources in the government tell OneIndia that it is studying the requests and is even thinking in that direction.

Chattisgarh Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against lifting inter-state travel. Rajasthan is also working on a staggered exit strategy to lift the lockdown. In Rajasthan a committee has been set up to formulate a state-specific exit strategy. This would be based on sealing high-risk areas.