The Supreme Court, on Thursday, accepted the recommendations made by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the refund for flight tickets booked by passengers for travel during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The court ruled that refunds should be issued for tickets booked for travel during the lockdown period between March 25 to May 24 without cancellation charges. If the ticket was booked through a travel agent, the money will be refunded through the agent, SC said.
If a ticket was booked during the lockdown period (from March 25 to May 24) for travel during lockdown period and the airline received payment and refund is sought by the passenger, the airline shall refund the entire amount without any cancellation charges. The refund shall be made within a period of three weeks from the date of cancellation, SC said.
The order will apply for bookings made for both domestic and international flights during the lockdown period.
Airlines that are not in a position to refund tickets will have the option to create a credit shell that can be used by the passenger for travel on any route before March 31, 2021. The credit shell will be issued in the name of the passenger and will be transferable and an interest of 0.5% will also accrue every month from the date of cancellation till June 30, 2020. Post this, an interest of 0.75% on the face value will be accumulated every month till March 31, 2021, ruled the apex court.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising RS Reddy and MR Shah were hearing petitions filed by Pravasi Legal Cell and Air Passengers Association who demanded a refund on airfare for passengers who had booked flights, which were cancelled during the lockdown.
The bench said the court cannot lose sight of the present situation prevailing in the country and across the globe in the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic, and it cannot be disputed that the civil aviation sector, which is one of the important sectors, is seriously affected in view of the ban imposed for operating flights.
The refund of tickets that were purchased for travel after May 24 will be governed by the provisions of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).
According to reports, Advocates representing airlines said that they have faced unprecedented losses and the counsel representing the petitioners said that refund has to be given as passengers cannot be made to suffer because of it.
On behalf of the centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the government backed the issuance of a transferable refund voucher facility to the customers.
The DGCA had issued a notification on April 16 ordering the refund of airfares for tickets booked during the lockdown period.