PANAJI
Passengers who have booked flight tickets well in advance are now being intimated that flights from Dabolim Airport are being cancelled and rescheduled from Mopa airport.
In one such incident, a person residing in Goa had a disappointing experience after being told by the airlines that the flight from Dabolim was cancelled.
“We had booked a ticket well in advance for my teenage son last month, from Goa to Mumbai to Dehradun to get to his boarding school on January 8,” said the person, who spoke to The Goan on condition of anonymity.
“The airlines sent us a cancellation message stating that the flight was not operational. After an hour-long call, we were informed that the airlines is looking to have full aircraft utilisation from the new airport and hence all Dabolim departures will be scheduled from Mopa with the airport code ‘GOX’.”
“We were surprised to note that this was the exact same flight number with the same time and same date, but out of Mopa airport. How can that be possible? In the first place, the airlines should have clearly intimated us upfront at the time of booking that the flight could depart from another airport in Goa.”
The person then got in touch with the airlines on twitter and put forth the disappointment. In reply, the airlines merely stated: “We assure you causing discomfort to our customers and disrupting their travel plans is never our intention. We request you to opt for a flight move or refund. Hoping to serve you better in the future.”
“The issue is not about a refund, but the sudden and unexpected change in plans, from one airport to another. This would pose severe inconvenience to several other passengers, who would be told that they would have to travel to Mopa airport instead of Dabolim airport.”
“We have been given to understand that a person from Jaipur has also encountered a similar situation involving the same airlines,” the person added.
