Pleas call for ticket refunds; SC asks govt to discuss with airlines

The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to discuss with airlines the modalities of refunding tickets for domestic and international passenger flights cancelled when India suspended air travel to contain the coronavirus.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah asked the Centre to take a stand on the issue and work out ways for full refund, news agency PTI reported.

A plea was also raised that airlines across the world are facing a tough time due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and they too be heard as parties to the plea filed by one NGO, Pravasi Legal Cell'.

The top court fixed the plea for further hearing after three weeks.

It had on Monday had sought responses from the Centre and the DGCA on the plea seeking directions to airlines operating domestic and international fights in India to refund full amount collected for tickets due to cancellation of flights in wake of the lockdown.

Passengers in protective gear at Delhi International Airport on Monday. Photo: Dalip Kumar

The plea urged the court to declare the alleged action of airlines of not refunding the entire value of cancelled air tickets as violative of the civil aviation requirement issued by the authority.

It is submitted that the airlines instead of providing the full refund of the amount collected for the tickets due to cancellation, are providing a credit shell, valid up to one year, which is clearly in violation of the Civil Aviation Requirement of May 2008 issued by the DGCA which clearly states that the option of holding the refund amount in credit shell by the airlines shall be the prerogative of the passenger and not a default practice of the airline, said the plea.

Referring to the earlier prevalent practice, it has said in case of credit card payments, refund shall be made by the airlines within seven days of the cancellation to account of the credit card holder and in case of a cash transaction, the refund shall be made immediately by the airline office from where the ticket was purchased.

The Civil Aviation Requirement of May 2008 sets a limit of 30 working days for airlines to complete the refund process for tickets booked through travel agents/ portals, the plea has said.

A passenger undergoes screening after arriving at Kempegowda International airport for domestic travel, during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown in Bengaluru. Photo: PTI

The plea referred to the April 16 office memorandum of the Ministry of Civil Aviation which deals with a refund of ticket amount collected without levy of cancellation charge.

It claimed that the memorandum directed airlines to provide full refund to only those people who booked tickets during the lockdown period, and "leaving out people who booked tickets prior to lockdown but the flights canceled due to lockdown amounts to treating equals unequally and thus the same is in clear violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution".

The plea said: It is clear from the Office Memorandum that directs the airlines to refund only those tickets that were booked during the lockdown period, leaves out the vast majority of passengers who had booked tickets before the flights were banned.

"Which indirectly approves to the practice of the airlines providing Credit Shell for booking effected before the lockdown, though the same clearly violates the refund rules of the DGCA.

There was no question of anyone booking a ticket during the lockdown knowing that schedule passenger flights were cancelled for period of travel and this made Office Memorandum of the Ministry of Civil Aviation ambiguous and devoid of any logic, the plea has claimed.