AHMEDABAD: K Prakash, an energy sector professional from the city, had booked his ticket from Ahmedabad to Kochi. He paid Rs 3,100 per person and made a booking for January 6 way back in October. Three days prior to his journey, he received a message from the airline, stating his flight had been cancelled. “My travel plans were well in place. I had no choice but to pay double the airfare and book another ticket at the last minute,” said Prakash.
With airlines cancelling flights at the last minute following spike in Covid cases, several passengers like Prakash have been left in the lurch. With weekend curfews imposed in certain states, dwindling passenger footfall has driven several airlines to cancel flights. For instance, Indigo Airlines on Sunday announced cancellation of 20% of its flight movements.
Similarly, other low-cost carriers too have cut down flight movements from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport in Ahmedabad. Well-placed sources confirmed that flight frequencies to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi have been reduced whereas those to less frequented sectors such as Kolkata, Indore, Porbandar, Lucknow and Dehradun, among others have been reduced as well.
Travel agent, Anuj Pathak, who was scheduled to take a flight from Jaipur to Delhi for a social commitment, was compelled to cancel his ticket at the last minute and book another. “I had to pay almost 1.5 times the fare to book an alternate ticket in the last minute. Several of my clients whose flights were cancelled were also compelled to do the same. While airlines are providing refund for the cancelled ticket, the last-minute cancellation is hampering travel plans and budgets too. Instead, the airlines must provide the option to reschedule the flight at the same cost,” said Pathak, who is also the president of Tour operators and travel agents’ Association of Gujarat (TAG).
Bholabhai Gedia, a construction contractor from Ahmedabad who travelled to Chennai for a work trip, also faced similar constraints. “We were on a holiday and were scheduled to return on January 11. Ten tickets were cancelled three days prior to our departure from Chennai. We scrambled to get another flight. This one was via Goa and involves a five-hour layover before we reach Ahmedabad. We had to pay more for the tickets too,” said Gedia.
