NEW DELHI: Scheduled passenger flights could now resume from May 4. After Prime Minister Modi extended the nationwide lockdown to May 3 on Tuesday, the aviation ministry tweeted, “all domestic and international scheduled airlines operations shall remain suspended till 11.59 pm of May 3, 2020.” This restriction does not apply to all-cargo and other flights specifically approved by the DGCA, like those being operated for repatriating people.
All domestic and international scheduled Airlines operations shall remain suspended till 11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020.
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) 1586846343000
It remains to be seen if the ministry takes a decision on passengers’ complaints of airlines not offering refunds for cancelled flights and instead giving vouchers for future travel for the amount booked. This has been a major pain point for people.
The Railway Board, on the other hand, issued an order Tuesday saying “no advance reservation till further notice” and that passengers will get full refund of fares for cancelled trains.
Aviation minister H S Puri tweeted: “There were good reasons for the lockdown to be extended till May 3. We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic and international flights thereafter. I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel and request the