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Pamela Rodrigues from Ribandar was at Mumbai airport awaiting her boarding call to Kuwait when the government there announced its decision to halt all commercial flights into the country with immediate effect and close down the airport due to coronavirus.
Melbourne-based Leon Fernandes was also forced to cancel his travel plans to Goa next week on account of being an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder. “I was supposed to travel to Goa to celebrate a milestone birthday. Unfortunately, it does not look like it will be possible,” he said.
Cancelled flights and travel plans are just another of the casualties of the coronavirus outbreak which the World Health Organisation (WHO) on On Wednesday classified as a ‘pandemic’ (meaning the disease has now gone international and out of control) and urged all countries to step up its emergency response.
In view of this, India issued a new travel advisory, closing down its borders to foreigners including OCI cardholders and visa holders till April 15, besides instating a 14-day quarantine for all foreign travellers including Indian citizens returning from seven countries including China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, France and Germany.
With a population of over 1.2 billion people, the government is right to panic. So far, the nation has experienced cases mainly in Uttar Pradesh followed by Kerala, and then Karnataka. Goa still continues to remain in the green zone with no cases being reported here yet.
Now, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry has asked airlines to waive off rescheduling charges, and airlines have agreed with domestic airlines, including Air India, announcing a waiver on re-booking charges and the applicable difference of fare charges in the case of re-routing.
However, many did not give the customer the option of cancellation.
“Travellers are disappointed because many have booked in advance. In such situations, you have to see in terms of the larger interest so we have to make certain sacrifices. In terms of refund, it depends on a case to case basis. Some hotels are, some are not. Same with the airlines although most are allowing people to postpone their journey instead of returning the fee,”said Savio Messias, president, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa.
Goa receives two to three airlines per day on an average. That amounts to atleast 200 passengers, so its a big number. With the state mostly dependent on tourism, it’s definitely going to affect the tourism industry and consequently the economy to a large extent.
As Messias stated, “Our consolation, thus far, is that Goa is coronavirus-free.”
It is disappointing to the trade, the trade is going to face a lot of losses. But looking at the larger interest. If the virus spreads across the country, it will take a long time for us to recover, so everybody needs to cooperate with the government and work in that direction.
” Savio Messias, president, TTAG
I feel this decision will have a long term effect on the people because even after the lifting of the ban, people might still be afraid to travel. In terms of already cancelled plans, these cases are in the hands of the travel agencies and airlines, what terms they come to settle with.
” Sagar Joshi, freelance tour operator
Looking at it in terms of the industry, a lot of tours have cancelled. Student tours have also taken a hit as the government has issued a notice requesting students not to travel across states. While the sector may face a deep loss, in terms of curtailing the spread of the virus, it is a good step.
” S Kamat, Shree Ashtavinayak Travels, Panaji
