Air India Repatriation Flights
If you go to Indigo’s website right now, you can see results for flights from June 1 (I tried Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi). Airlines are strapped for cash and they have opened bookings to bring money in. Just to put into context why they’re getting desperate, the aviation industry in India is losing around Rs 75-90 crores every day. This fiscal year, the industry–it’s predicted by analytics company Crisil–will lose Rs 25,000 (airlines are the biggest loser with Rs 17,000 crores; airport operators will see a downfall of Rs 5,000 crores; and airport retailers might suffer a loss of Rs 1,700 crores). As I wrote in a blog post last month, travel hasn’t stopped completely . Airlines globally are still operating rescue operations and freight flights. But with borders around the world closed, you can’t simply book a flight and hop on. For those who are stranded in other countries, the government has started ‘Mission Vande Bharat’. Repatriation flights and ships from India have started this...