New Delhi: In a disappointment to people stranded outside their hometown, air and train services may not start even after the 40-day coronavirus lockdown comes to an end on May 3.
Aviation regulator DGCA has directed airlines to stop taking ticket bookings for May 4, and said it has not taken a decision regarding when to commence the operation of domestic and international flights.
"In these circulars, there was no direction/clearance, which allows the airlines to start ticket bookings for the journeys to be undertaken w.e.f the 4th of May 2020. In this respect, it is brought to the notice of all concerned that no decision to commence the operation of domestic/international flights w.e.f the 4th of May 2020 has been taken yet," a statement from the regulator read.
"In view of this, all airlines are hereby directed to refrain from booking tickets as described above," it added.
Meanwhile, a report in Hindustan Times quoted a Union minister, who attended a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting, as saying on condition of anonymity that there was a suggestion in the meeting chaired by Defence minister Rajnath Singh at his house that air travel may be started from May 15.
The report stated that these and other suggestions from a free-wheeling discussion attended by ministers including Textile minister Smriti Irani, aviation minister Hardeep Puri and others, will be conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a final decision.
"There was a discussion on restarting air operations. The aviation minister also said that the planes being parked were also leading to an expense," one of the attendees quoted as saying. However, Puri declined comment.
"There were no specific dates discussed about when air and rail travel will start," said an official who attended the meeting. "It is perhaps fair to say that it will take time. It will certainly go beyond May 3. In fact, it will be perhaps the last thing that is allowed."
Another minister was quoted as saying that one of the suggestions at the meeting was on special trains to ferry migrants who are stranded. "It could be a non-stop train from Thiruvananthapuram to Bhubaneswar for example," this person added.
The government announced a halt to domestic flights on March 23, ordering commercial airlines to shut down domestic operations on top of an existing ban on international flights to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus.
"The Ministry of Civil Aviation clarifies that so far no decision has been taken to open domestic or international operations," civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet late on Saturday.
"Airlines are advised to open their bookings only after a decision in this regard has been taken by the Government", he added.
About 144 million people travelled on domestic flights last year.
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