In a relief for domestic passengers who are having to abort travel plans due to the Omicron surge and decline in demand for domestic air travel due to restrictions imposed by State Governments, several airlines -  Air India, IndiGo, Go First and Vistara announced a free  change of date option on domestic tickets with confirmed travel plans until March 31 this year. The number of air passengers has slipped considerably as Covid cases have spiked. The Ministry of Civil Aviation data showed 2, 40, 795  air passengers travelled on 2,409 flights on January 9, down from 3.85 lakh recorded on December 26.  Occupancy of airlines have also reduced to the range of 60 percent.

In a tweet, Air India said, "In view of recent uncertainties due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, Air India is offering ONE FREE CHANGE of date or flight number or sector for all domestic tickets (098) with confirmed travel on/before 31.03.22."

The Tata-Singapore Airlines-backed Vistara is also providing one complimentary ‘date change’ for all domestic flights. The complimentary date change is permitted on all domestic flight routings issued for travel up to March 31, 2022. "We are observing a decline in demand for air travel due to the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases and travel restrictions imposed by various states. At Vistara, we are monitoring the situation closely and adjusting capacity to demand. We are also trying to minimise the inconvenience to our customers by offering them various options such as rescheduling or refunds," Vistara said in a statement.

On the other hand, IndiGo airlines anticipated that around 20 per cent of its current scheduled operations to be withdrawn from service. "In response to customer needs, IndiGo is waiving change fees and is offering free changes for all new and existing bookings made up to January 31, for flights up to March 31, 2022," statement from IndiGo stated. IndiGo, which has a fleet of over 275 aircraft, operated about 1,500 daily flights in December.

Another carrier, Go First airways also offered similar scheme keeping in view uncertain travel plans. “With GO FIRST, you can simply reschedule your flights at no extra cost. Offer valid on bookings till 31st January and travel up to 31st March,” said the airline on Monday.

On its part, online travel bookings company EaseMyTrip said it is offering a full refund to customers (including money deducted by airlines), in case of medical emergencies.

According to the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), domestic  air passenger traffic remained 44 per cent lower in the April-December 2021 against the corresponding period of FY20, but saw a jump of 52 per cent year-on-year to 111 lakh in December 2021. The total domestic passenger traffic had stood at 73 lakh in December 2020. Besides, the average daily departures stood at around 2,800, notably higher compared with around 2,065 in December 2020 and around 2,700 in November 2021, it said.

On its part, online travel bookings company EaseMyTrip said it is offering a full refund to customers (including money deducted by airlines), in case of medical emergencies. SpiceJet is also discussing the issue internally and is likely to make an announcement soon.

According to the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), domestic  air passenger traffic remained 44 per cent lower in the April-December 2021 against the corresponding period of FY20, but saw a jump of 52 per cent year-on-year to 111 lakh in December 2021. The total domestic passenger traffic had stood at 73 lakh in December 2020. Besides, the average daily departures stood at around 2,800, notably higher compared with around 2,065 in December 2020 and around 2,700 in November 2021, it said.