New Delhi, April 15: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday asked airlines to refund tickets booked during the coronavirus lockdown if a customer requests for it. The DGCA also directed the airlines that tickets booked during coronavirus lockdown should be refunded without deducting cancellation fees within three weeks time from the date of request. Indian Railways & Airlines in a State of Confusion on Whether to Sell Train And Flight Tickets After April 14 With No Official Announcement on Nationwide Lockdown Extension.

The directive was issued by the DGCA after several had raised complaints that airlines were refusing to refund the tickets instead of offering them options to reschedule, reported NDTV. The DGCA in a statement said, “If a person booked a ticket during the first phase of lockdown (March 25 to April 14) and the airline has received the payment during the first phase only for travelling during the same period, for both domestic and international air travel and the airline should refund the full amount collected without a levy cancellation charge.” Air India Shuts Ticket Booking Window For All Domestic & International Flights Till April 30 Amid Coronavirus Lockdown.

ANI's tweet:

The civil aviation regulator has also asked airlines to refund tickets without charging cancellation fee for people who made airline bookings for days between April 14 and May 3, after cancelling their tickets during the first phase of lockdown.  However, the DGCA did not mention about the tickets booked before March 25 for the lockdown period. The DGCA’s directive came days after Prime Minister Modi extended lockdown till May 3.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 05:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).