Coronavirus lockdown: Booking for post-April 14 flights gets lukewarm response

New Delhi: With indications that the lockdown will be lifted after April 14, some private airlines and travel agents have noticed a tentative resumption in flight bookings starting April 15, reports Mihir Mishra. However, the response is still lukewarm and not all sections of travellers have started booking tickets.

The fact that the government has allowed non-essential cargo for industry to be ferried for a fee has also opened up a potential business avenue for airlines, which are struggling with a loss of revenue due to the grounding of flights. Airlines said they expect good loads on flights once operations restart. “We have not seen a dramatic increase in bookings beyond April 15. It’s still early days and though the indications are that the lockdown won’t be extended, flights are generally open for sale almost a year in advance so there are loads on the flight as they stand now,” said Vinod Kannan, chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara