City lawyer sends notice to civil aviation minister

Says airlines flouting norms by retaining the amount paid for tickets cancelled due to lockdown; notice says airlines sitting on passengers’ money and earning interest on it; seeks refund

A day ahead of the resumption of domestic flights, an Ahmedabad-based lawyer has raised the issue of airlines not refunding the tickets cancelled by passengers during the lockdown period. He has sent a legal notice to Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in this connection.

In his notice, he has pointed out that airlines cannot retain the amount of refund for more than 40 days from the date of travel. The notice says passengers were forced to cancel tickets due to imposition of lockdown which was beyond their control.

He said the airlines have retained the fare while giving passengers option to fly to their destination within a year with the assurance of adjusting the difference at the time of flying, which is illegal.

Talking about the notice emailed to the minister via deputy secretary of aviation Ajay Yadav, Utkarsh Dave told Mirror, "The airlines are not refunding the amount against cancellations. They are retaining the amount and giving one-year credit to passengers, which is wrong.

"The point is how legitimate is it to retain money and force passengers to buy tickets from the same airline? Also, why are airlines charging the fare difference on confirmed tickets?

Dave had booked a ticket for Delhi in May, but it got cancelled due to the lockdown.

"I had booked the ticket in advance and now they are charging more money. I have to pay more if I don't book the ticket in advance. They are retaining the money without my consent and flouting the law. I am going to file a plea in the Gujarat HC in public interest if I do not get a satisfactory reply. Such a practice is not seen in any country affected by the pandemic," Dave told Mirror.

Dave's notice demanded that the civil aviation ministry issue directions to airlines to stop the practice and immediately refund the amount unconditionally to those who seek it. Also, there should be no additional charge imposed on passengers who want to travel on the same route as booked earlier.

The notice said, "The cumulative amount the airlines must have collected this way would be huge including the interest they earn on it."

What travel agents say

Manish Sharma, Secretary of the Travel Agents Federation of India, said, "I firmly believe that the airlines should refund the tickets. Mostly passengers travel with a purpose which may not be there a year later. For instance, those who book tickets for marriage in the family will not travel after a year. So, passengers should get the refund or given a choice whether they want to opt for fare adjustment at a later date."