airlines | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Wed, 27 May 2020 11:27:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png airlines | SabrangIndia 32 32 Has allowing non emergency air travel so soon given wings to Covid-19 pandemic as well? https://sabrangindia.in/has-allowing-non-emergency-air-travel-so-soon-given-wings-covid-19-pandemic-well/ Wed, 27 May 2020 11:27:55 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/05/27/has-allowing-non-emergency-air-travel-so-soon-given-wings-covid-19-pandemic-well/ Two domestic passengers have tested positive, air crew quarantined, as onus of the information shared in self declaration and Arogya Setu, lies with the individual.

The post Has allowing non emergency air travel so soon given wings to Covid-19 pandemic as well? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]> Covid 19Image Courtesy:weforum.org

To take a domestic flight in the times of Covid-19, all you need to do after you buy your ticket and print your boarding pass, is to just give a self declaration that you are fit to fly. Fit to fly here means that you will have to declare that you are Coronavirus negative, you do not need a medical certificate stating this yet and airlines are okay to fly you as long as you are asymptomatic. All they want you to is sign this, a Passenger Declaration:

1 .I/We am/are not residing in any containment zone.
2. I/We am/are not suffering from any fever/cough/any respiratory distress.
3. I/we am/are not under quarantine.
4. If I/we develop any of the above mentioned symptoms I shall contact the concerned health authorities, immediately.
5. I/we have not tested COVID-19 positive
6. I/we am eligible to travel as per the extant norms.
7. I shall make my mobile number/contact details available to the Airlines whenever required by them.
8. I understand that if I undertake the air journey without meeting the eligibility criteria, I would be liable to penal action.
9. I/We undertake to adhere to the Health Protocol prescribed by the Destination State/Union Territories

The onus of the information shared being correct is on you. Of course everyone is highly encouraged to download Arogya Setu, the Government of India-backed tracking app. The user has to fill the information data themselves even on this app. Armed with that information, sanitisers, gloves, masks, and face shields, thousands of people have already taken flights, mostly international arrivals till recently. Most have followed the quarantine procedures once at their destinations.  

The numbers of air passengers increased exponentially as domestic travel opened up on Monday. And as expected, the glitch in the system that exposed faster than you could say take off. The Hindustan Times has reported today that  IndiGo airlines has now grounded the crew of its Chennai-Coimbatore flight soon after a passenger on-board was found to be coronavirus positive. This is the first official case of a passenger testing positive for Covid-19 after the domestic flight services resumed on Monday, states the HT report. The passenger, who rightfully remains unidentified, had taken the short Chennai-Coimbatore IndiGo flight 6E 381, is now reported to be in quarantine at the “ESI state medical facility at Coimbatore.” 

IndiGo airlines issued a statement to announce that as a precautionary measure, the crew working on the flight have been grounded for 14 days. “The passenger was seated on-board the aircraft with all precautionary measures including face mask, face shield and gloves, as were the other passengers. Additionally, no one else was seated in his vicinity, significantly reducing the possibility of transmission,” the statement was quoted by HT. “The operating crew has been grounded for 14 days and we are in the process of notifying other passengers as per the government guidelines, to ensure safety of our passengers and staff,” IndiGo stated.  However, its mood sure remains upbeat.

Covid 19

Flights had been grounded when the national lockdown was announced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Two months later, domestic air travel was re-started across the country. Apart from the regulated sanitisation protocols, masks for everyone and cabin crews wearing PPEs, different states had mandated various self-isolaton rules which the passengers are expected to follow once they arrive at their destinations.

Another case was reported yesterday by the news agency ANI, which stated that a passenger on Air India AI9I837 flight from Delhi to Ludhiana was found to be Covid-19 positive. “The passenger who works in the security department of Alliance Air was traveling on a paid ticket. All the passengers of this flight are now under state quarantine: Air India”

 

Meanwhile, in a recent ruling the  Supreme Court has said that the special flights operating to bring back Indians stranded abroad must now keep the middle seats vacant. According to a report by NDTV, the court commented that social distancing is important as a precaution against coronavirus and it was “common sense”. However the SC has said that the middle seat bookings on the Air India flights will be allowed only till June 6. “The court also noted that the government should be more worried about the health of citizens rather than the health of commercial airlines,” the report stated. 

The Supreme Court has made these observations only for international flights. “It is common sense that maintaining social distancing is important. Outside, there should be a social distancing of at least six feet, what about inside aircrafts,” Chief Justice SA Bobde told Air India, which has been operating the “Vande Bharat” flights since May 7 to bring back Indians stranded abroad due to virus shutdowns reported NDTV

The exemption till June 6 has also raised questions. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, wondered why the date had been chosen at all? She tweeted, “After 6 June, Middle Seats On Flights Must Be Vacant, Says Supreme Court – what is the sanctity of June 6th?”
 

Speaking to SabrangIndia on condition of anonymity, an Air India pilot who has been operating these `vande bharat’ repatriation flights to bring Indians stranded abroad back home said that the crew is doing their best to protect themselves and the passengers, but the fact remains that the flights are packed. Social distancing is impossible in this scenario unless more flights are operated with half the number of passengers in each.

The pilots also undergo a Covid test before and after each flight, and have put in extra precautionary measures in place. “We stay isolated in the cabin, only one cabin crew interacts with us and we have a designated toilet for our use,” he said. The scene is different in the cabins. On one of the flights, snacks and water were placed on each seat before the passengers boarded, and there was no meal service. However, it is not known if apart from the mandatory self declaration and temperature screening, passengers are tested before they board the flight.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also put up guidelines for domestic travel, by air, train, and even inter-state bus. Of course they are basic and put the onus on the traveler and state governments:

1)  Dos and Don’ts shall be provided along with tickets to the travellers by the agencies concerned.

2)  All passengers shall be advised to download Arogya Setu app on their mobile devices.

3)  Suitable announcement about COVID-19 including precautionary measures to be followed shall be made at airports/railway station/bus terminals and in flights/trains/bus.

4)  The States/UTs shall ensure that all passengers shall undergo thermal screening at the point of departure and only asymptomatic passengers are allowed to board the flight/train/bus.

5)  During boarding and travel, all passengers shall use face covers/mask. They will also follow hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and maintain environmental hygiene.

6)  At airports/railway stations/ bus terminals required measures to ensure social distancing shall be taken.

7)  Airports/railway stations/bus terminals should be regularly sanitized/disinfected and availability of soaps and sanitizers shall be ensured.

8)  Thermal screening at exit point shall be arranged.

9)  Asymptomatic passengers will be permitted to go with the advice that they shall self-monitor their health for 14 days. In case, they develop any symptoms, they shall inform the district surveillance officer or the state/national call center (1075).

10)  Those found symptomatic will be isolated and taken to the nearest health facility. They will be assessed for clinical severity at the health facility.

11)  Those having moderate or severe symptoms will be admitted to dedicated COVID Health facilities and managed accordingly.

12)  Those having mild symptoms will be given the option of home isolation or isolated in the Covid Care Centre (both public & private facilities) as appropriate and tested as per ICMR protocol available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Revisedtestingguidelines.pdf. If positive, they will continue in COVID Care Centre and will be managed as per clinical protocol.
If negative, the passenger may be allowed to go home, isolate himself/herself and self- monitor his/her health for further 7 days. In case, any symptoms develop they shall inform the district surveillance officer or the state/national call center (1075).

The above advisory adds that the states can “also develop their own protocol with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment.”

Meanwhile aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri only had this to say: “Mission Vande Bharat flies high. Till 25th May, more than 30,000 people have returned to India on 158 flights from different countries & more than 10,000 people have flown out of India on 164 flights. Another 49,000 people will be able to fly till mid June 2020.  

 

 

Covid 19

Related:

For migrant labourers returning home even the special trains are becoming death traps

The post Has allowing non emergency air travel so soon given wings to Covid-19 pandemic as well? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]> Are airlines flouting DGCA norms to fully refund passengers for cancellations due to Covid 19? https://sabrangindia.in/are-airlines-flouting-dgca-norms-fully-refund-passengers-cancellations-due-covid-19/ Wed, 18 Mar 2020 09:57:34 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/03/18/are-airlines-flouting-dgca-norms-fully-refund-passengers-cancellations-due-covid-19/ Most airlines are charging regular cancellation fees and not giving full refund

The post Are airlines flouting DGCA norms to fully refund passengers for cancellations due to Covid 19? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]> Airline cancellation

Airlines all over the world have taken a hit post the Corona virus outbreak. Countries have sealed their international borders and now the International Air Transport Association has pegged the global loss of revenue to a maximum of $113 billion. But little did one expect some airlines to still use loopholes or excuses to find a way to avoid refunding passengers.

Take the case of InterGlobe Aviation or IndiGo Airlines as India’s largest low-cost carrier is popularly known, that appeared to make the right moves on the surface, but still tried to dodge the bullet when it came to paying back passengers. The airline has sent out emails regarding easy flight rescheduling and cancellation at this trying time. In a promotional letter to its customers, it said that that it has now asked its customer relations officers to work six days a week, instead of five, and has also asked airport staff in other departments to man customer relations due to the surge in incoming emails and calls. The carrier has also said that it will not charge any fee for rescheduling domestic and international flights booked for March 12 till March 31.

However, despite the advisory issued by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking airlines to waive off cancellation / rescheduling charges; IndiGo chose not to waive off the ticket cancellation charges, thereby charging flyers exorbitant amounts for the same. Tweeting from its official handle, the airline said, “We understand that you are worried about travelling due to the coronavirus outbreak, which is why we’re offering free change for the travel booked from 12 to 31st Mar’20, provided that the booking is rescheduled at least 72 hrs before flight departure.” It added, “Please know, if you wish to cancel, applicable charges will be levied. You may visit http://goindigo.in for more details. Hope for your understanding.” 

The tweets may be viewed here: 

 

 

 

This 72 hour rider appears to be the airlines way of ensuring that the ticket is only rescheduled, thus allowing the airline to hold on to the ticket price. Cancellation charges increase as one gets closer to the date of departure, especially during the last 3 days when they can go up too the entire price of the ticket! The airline’s refusal to grant full refunds is thus attracting severe flak from customers who took to Twitter to express their woes after the airlines did not offer full refunds for cancellations.

A customer alleged –

 

 

However, this seems to be the case with all airlines.
 

Also, other airlines like SpiceJet and GoAir are also facing flak for their unwillingness to provide full refunds for cancellations.

About cancellations, Spicejet clarified in an official tweet –

 

Go Air too issued a statement saying that their earlier offer of free cancellation was not available any longer.

 

Meanwhile, Air Vistara has waived cancellation charges for domestic and international flights booked on or before March 1, 2020. It has also waived cancellation fees on cancellation flight tickets booked on or before March 12, 2020, reported CNBC TV18. However, any fare difference will be applicable to such changes the airlines added. 

But Go Air’s policies are also hurting their own staff. The airline has asked some of its employees to go on leave without pay. The Economic Times reported the airlines as saying that it has, “initiated a short term and temporary rotational leave without pay program that will not only help the company counter the short term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross section of our employees stay away from the workplace to ensure business continuity.”

At present, Afghanistan, Phillipines and Malaysia have been added to the list of countries from where nobody, including Indian nationals, can fly directly to India. This after the same advisory was issued yesterday for those who were travelling from the European Union (EU), European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Mumbai based aviation analyst told Quartz India, “The travel advisory will certainly put the flyers into panic mode. Many of them are avoiding flying to domestic destinations too. Furthermore, SpiceJet and IndiGo have inducted new planes in their fleet and with business going down, managing rising costs will be difficult for them, leading to a massive drop in their quarterly earnings.”

The current number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India has jumped to 148. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also reported that it had not discovered any evidence of community transmission of the corona virus in India after all the 500 random samples had tested negative for the ailment.

Related:

Maha gov’t to stamp those advised home quarantine amid Covid-19 outbreak

Shaheen Bagh protest continues; protestors take preventive measures against Covid-19

Mumbai local trains likely to be suspended after city’s first Covid-19 death

 

 

The post Are airlines flouting DGCA norms to fully refund passengers for cancellations due to Covid 19? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>