The aviation regulator on Saturday extended the suspension of domestic and international commercial flight operations till May 17 following the extension of the nationwide lockdown for another two week beginning Monday.
However, the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA).
The DGCA further said, “It is reiterated that foreign and domestic airlines shall be suitably informed about the opening of their operations, whether international to/from India or domestic, in due course.”
The regulator did not indicate whether the airlines could resume forward booking of air tickets beyond May 17.
Refund outgo
Advisory firm Capa India in a report said airlines may need to shell out $500 million in refunds; $300 million for domestic tickets, and the rest for international, if the Supreme Court rules against the airlines in a refund case.
A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court in late April against airlines’ decision to offer a credit shell instead of refunds to passengers whose flights were cancelled because of the lockdown. Though passengers could use the credit shell over the next year, there are conditions attached to it.
Even though the government later asked airlines to refund the tickets, these were limited to bookings done during the lockdown period.
The consultancy firm said excluding market leader IndiGo, other Indian carriers will need to raise a minimum of $2.5 billion to survive the grounding because of the lockdown.
“IndiGo is well-placed in terms of cash reserves ($1.13 billion of free cash and $1.33 billion of restricted cash) compared with other Indian carriers. However, it too is not immune to risks in the event of a prolonged crisis,” Capa India said in its latest report — Indian aviation faces massive disruption on the road out of Covid-19.
It said the $2.5 billion fresh capital infusion for airlines will only be sufficient for them to survive until the market starts to turn around, and additional funds could be required for recovery.
'Much will depend upon factors such as the state of the economy and the timing of any vaccine or cure,' the report said.
