India Aviation News Update19th March

Here's a quick roundup of India Aviation industry developments of the day
Flights over India as of now- from Flightradar24

1. All international flights banned from March 22nd till March 29th
Govt has banned all international flights for a week from March 22nd till March 29th. Those who are outside and wish to return home still have about 2 days. [News]

This is in addition to already announced bans on flight from Malaysia, Afghanistan, Philippines, Europe, UK etc.

At this moment if you are outside India, best is to stay in that country, isolate yourself and wait out till things get better. Don't rush to airport without confirmed itinerary. Do not worry about visa expiry- I am sure countries around the world understand the situation- it should be fine if you overstay your visa for a week or two.

2. Indigo announced pay cuts
Indigo has announced salary cuts across the board, from 25% to 5% in order to conserve cash. Indigo has good cash reserves and is most capable airline to withstand the current storm, but with no clarity how long the crisis will last, no amount of money is enough, so it helps to be conservative. [News]

3. Spicejet cuts international flights
Spicejet has announced curtailing most of their international flights, except for Dhaka. But even that will be suspended given Govt has banned international flights.

4. Govt readying package for Aviation Industry?
A 12000 crore package is being readied? This news report suggests

5. Stranded Indians in Kuala Lumpur and Iran
Several Indians are stranded in Kuala Lumpur as India banned flights from Malaysia. Several Corona Virus +ve people are stuck in Iran- these are testing times- every additional arrival carries a huge risk of someone in the group being Corona Virus +ve and then spreading it to dozen others while they return to India. Several individuals defy quarantine instructions and are caught traveling in train, roaming around in city, aiding in spread of the virus

6. GoAir and Vistara have already announced suspending international flights, which is anyway now not allowed since international flights are banned.

With international flights suspended, some nice widebody aircrafts are being flown on domestic route- Vistara flying dreamliner on Mumbai-Delhi route, Air India may fly them on some domestic routes as well.

Domestic flights continue to operate, with fares touching 30000-40000 INR one way on select routes.


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