The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on a batch of pleas seeking refund of airfare to passengers whose flights were cancelled during the lockdown that began on March 25. Several flights — international and domestic — were cancelled during the lockdown, the refund for which has become a contentious issue as airlines are offering credit shells instead of monetary refund.
Several flights have been cancelled after a nationwide lockdown began on March 25, However, there is no consensus among DGCA, Centre and the airlines on the refund of the cancelled tickets. (PTI)
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Non-government organisation Pravasi Legal Cell, which filed one of the pleas, has claimed that not refunding the money is illegal and violates Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA’s) requirements.
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A three-judge bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan is hearing the pleas. The airlines are in dissonance with the refund police that the Centre has proposed. According to the policy, there will be immediate refund for air tickets booked during lockdown. For others, creation a credit shell with validity till March 31, 2021, has been proposed. The airlines have said there was no in-depth consultation among the stakeholders on this issue.
The central government has also suggested that airlines should pay customers a monthly interest of 0.5% for delay in refunding the booking amount for cancelled air tickets, which the airlines are resisting.
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