Journalism of Courage
Premium

Process refunds related to air tickets booked during Covid lockdown by next week: Govt tells online travel portals

An official release on Wednesday said that travel aggregators have been asked to disburse pending refunds affected due to Covid-19 lockdown till the end of the third week of November.

air travelOn Wednesday, the Consumer Affairs Ministry held a meeting with online travel aggregators to discuss issues prejudicial to consumer interest in the travel sector. (Express Photo: Partha Paul)
Advertisement
Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element.

The government on Wednesday directed online travel portals to process pending refunds related to air ticket bookings during the coronavirus lockdown period by the third week of November.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a nationwide lockdown for varying periods starting from March 25, 2020, and scheduled commercial flight services were also suspended for a certain period.

On Wednesday, the Consumer Affairs Ministry held a meeting with online travel aggregators to discuss issues prejudicial to consumer interest in the travel sector.

At the meeting, chaired by consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, the issue of non-refund of amount of tickets booked during Covid-19 lockdown period was discussed.

An official release on Wednesday said that travel aggregators have been asked to disburse pending refunds affected due to Covid-19 lockdown till the end of the third week of November.

“Further, the establishment of an Ombudsman for time-bound resolution of consumer grievances was also deliberated. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Department of Consumer Affairs can jointly work on the modalities involved in establishing the same,” the release said.

Another proposal is to integrate the National Consumer Helpline may be integrated with the Air Sewa Portal for effective resolution of consumer complaints.

From the homepage

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
  • Consumer Affairs Ministry COVID-19 Ministry of Civil Aviation
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us
Tavleen Singh writesWhat is it that Pakistan hates so much about Modi’s ‘new India’
X