New Delhi, April 13: Indian Railways is likely to address the issue of tickets booked by passengers post-April 14 on priority.  According to a Times of India report, the Indian Railways have now planned to suspend bookings till there is more clarity from the government on resuming passenger trains.  The country is in the middle of a 21-days nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

According to a Business Standard report, from April 1 to 11 this year, 670,295 tickets were booked, down 93.5 per cent from more than 1.03 million during the same time last year. Inspite of the uncertainty on the resumption in the train services, 45 percent of these tickets were booked in the past seven days. Indian Railways had continued their bookings post-April 14, whereas Air India had suspended all its bookings till April 30. Coronavirus Cases in India Soar to 9152, Death Toll Due to COVID-19 Rises to 308, Total 857 Recovered So Far.

On April 14, the lockdown is supposed to be lifted, but due to the rising COVID-19 cases, PM Narendra Modi has hinted an extension. However, there has been no official confirmation on this, as a result of which, both Railways and airlines have no clarity on whether to take bookings or not.  Infact, all airlines, except Air India are selling tickets for flights from April 15. Air India Shuts Ticket Booking Window For All Domestic & International Flights Till April 30 Amid Coronavirus Lockdown.

An airline executive quoted in a Business Standard report said, "The government should be more proactive regarding such decisions. If we don’t book tickets anticipating a ban we will lose out on revenue. If we sell and then have to cancel flights, we will face passenger ire. Bureaucrats should have some sensitivity to how businesses are done."

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2020 12:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).