Domestic flights can re-start from April 15 if lockdown ends: Minister

Domestic airlines can take bookings after April 15 when the 21-day lock-down to fight COVID-19 is expected to end, but a resumption of international commercial passenger services will be on a case-by-case basis, depending on the status of the pandemic in the country of origin.

“Government direction is very clear. Lockdown has been announced till April 14. In case it is extended, the same process (of refunds) has to follow,” Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters in a vide-conference, responding to questions on domestic airlines accepting bookings for April 15, a day after the 21-day lockdown.

However, Puri made it clear that international commercial passenger flights will be resumed only on a case-to-case basis after an assessment is done on the COVID-19 situation in the country where the flight originates from.

“The lockdown is till April 15. And, we can start considering the resumption of flights on a case-by-case basis depending on where they are coming from after that,” Puri said.

The minister did not respond to questions on whether the government was mulling a financial aid package for the airlines that were reeling under heavy losses due to shut down of operations in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Puri indicated at a possible delay in the disinvestment of Air India. “We will revisit it when other pressing issues are resolved,” he said referring to the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

Puri said Air India was set to resume cargo flights to Shanghai on Saturday and Sunday and permission was awaited from Chinese authorities on similar services to Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Air India Chairman-cum-Managing Director Rajiv Bansal said that the national carrier has signed a contract with Germany, Canada, Ireland and France to operate 18 charter flights to evacuate its nationals stranded in India.