Soon after Air India announced on its website that it would resume bookings for flight tickets in the near future, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is yet to decide on opening domestic or international operations, and advised airlines to open reservations only after the government makes an announcement in this regard.

In his tweet, the minister wrote: “The Ministry of Civil Aviation clarifies that so far no decision has been taken to open domestic or international operations. Airlines are advised to open their bookings only after a decision in this regard has been taken by the Government.”

Earlier in the day, national air passenger carrier Air India had on their website announced resumption in bookings for flight tickets. According to the company, bookings for some selected domestic flights were to resume from May 4, 2020. Air India had added that bookings for international flights would resume from June 1, 2020. Air India also said the company would review the day-to-day situation regarding the novel Coronavirus outbreak and will keep the people updated if there any changes were made.

Previously, the airline had announced a suspension in bookings for domestic as well as international flights. While the bookings were stopped till April 30, with the announcement of the second phase of the Coronavirus lockdown, the commencement of bookings have also been pushed till next month. According to previous notification, the bookings for flight tickets were suspended till May 3 and May 31 for domestic and international flights, respectively. The decision to halt the flight bookings came on the back of increasing numbers of people affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. India had also announced a nationwide complete lockdown from March 24 as confirmed COVID-19 cases were on a rise.

Not only Air India but private airlines had also announced a suspension in flight bookings in India. Also, those who had already booked flights and had to cancel their flights as a lockdown was imposed, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed all the airlines to refund the cost to passengers if they fulfill the given refund criteria. While the companies were earlier giving an option to reschedule their flights instead of refunds, people took to social media to lodge complaints and as a result, the Ministry issued guidelines for a refund for cancellations of tickets that were booked by many before.