\u201cThe frequent changing of lockdown dates has led to a situation that is fraught with uncertainty. It appears that no one knows anything for certain. Since we have no control over the situation, we have told clients that we will be unable to suggest travel dates. They have to take a call on whether they want to travel under these circumstances. If they do so, it will be at their own risk,\u201d a leading travel agent told TOI on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSeveral travel agents claimed they had suffered loss of credibility following Monday\u2019s announcement on fresh lockdown dates as they had assured customers of smooth travel on 24 days in August that were outside the purview of lockdown. But after August 20, 21, 27 and 28 were declared lockdown days on Monday, agents who had booked clients for travel on those four days were now in a soup.
Travel agents said they had also told clients that they would change travel dates without additional cost provided they opted to fly with the same airline on a revised date. Otherwise, customers will have to pay for the new flight as the amount for the cancelled ticket goes into a credit shell that can be utilized only during travel by the same airline.
Airlines officials, too, are in a quandary as all flights have to be cancelled on new lockdown dates and services have to be scheduled on dates that have exited the lockdown calendar.
\u201cIt isn\u2019t just about the logistics of flight deployment and cancellations but also about loads and how passengers respond. If the flights that are reintroduced don\u2019t get enough load, they will be cancelled. Right now, everyone is very jittery over the flight schedules in Kolkata. Most importantly, our credibility takes a beating as we have to cancel flights at the sudden announcements,\u201d an airline official said.
Passengers, who have had to cancel and rebook flights multiple times owing to the change in lockdown dates, are at their wits\u2019 end.
\u201cI was keeping tabs on the lockdown days in August and hadn\u2019t booked my tickets until the announcement of the dates by the chief minister was made. Just as I was about to reserve a flight, I realised the dates had changed and when finally, I had booked a flight home on August 21, I came to know that the dates had been changed again. Now, August 21 is a lockdown date when flights won\u2019t be operational in Bengal. I am in a fix and the airline has rescheduled my journey to the last week of August, but I am worried whether I would be able to travel even on that date or not,\u201d said Anamika Banerjee, whose parents live in Kolkata. <\/div>\n