Travel agents to strike work today

Passengers may face difficulties in booking tickets on Tuesday as travel agents have called for 'no ticketing day' as a protest against nonpayment of commission to them by the airlines. HT reports.

Passengers may face difficulties in booking tickets on Tuesday as travel agents have called for 'no ticketing day' as a protest against nonpayment of commission to them by the airlines.

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Claiming that over 90% air travellers book tickets either through a travel agent or a travel website, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) said they will not book tickets on Tuesday.

"At one point of time, we used to get 9% commission which has come down to 1% and in some case it is zero. Our demands are not being accepted by the airlines in India and that is why we have called for a nationwide shutter down," Rajji Rai of TAAI said. Travellers are likely to suffer with the move as many of them are dependent on the agents to book tickets.

Besides, the association has also demanded that the airlines should not be allowed to charge separately for various services like serving tea, food, insurance, preferred seat, change of dates among others. They demanded all these services to be included in the ticket price.

"We are the experts, who do everything from giving the best deal to arranging visa, travel insurance and even foreign exchange. We also play the role of a consultant to the corporate world for cost-effective solutions. This is a silent protest and we will not force anyone to join it. But to save the trade, it is important to tell the authority that without us, the aviation industry will lose the business," Rai added.

"TAAI may convert this one day shutter down to indefinite, if the demands are not met," Iqbal Mulla, president of TAAI said.