Airlines required to refund passengers, but forcing them may be ‘counter-productive’: DGCA to SC

Airlines are required to refund passengers for flights cancelled during the Covid-driven lockdown period but forcing them to do so may be “counter-productive” in view of the liquidity crunch the sector is facing, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told the Supreme Court while suggesting a “workable solution” that considered the best interests of flyers as well as companies.

In an affidavit filed in the SC, the DGCA has said airlines should “immediately” refund the ticket fares of passengers who booked their tickets during the lockdown period — between March 25 and May 3 — and were scheduled to travel in the period. However, for carriers facing “financial distress”, it has suggested setting up a transferable credit shell with life up to March 31, 2021 and a refund if the shell remains unused after that.