IndiGo Limits Operations, Hong Kong Bans Flights From India: What We Know About Aviation Sector

As Omicron continues to threaten the world health, leading low-cost carrier IndiGo has announced the suspension of most of its flights between Delhi, Mumbai, and three major airports of West Bengal namely; Kolkata, Durgapur, and Bagdogra for three months.

The announcement comes after the West Bengal government restricts the flights to Kolkata from Delhi and Mumbai and said that the flights to Kolkata will be allowed to operate only twice a week每 on Monday and Friday with effect from January 5.

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Operations limited to only 2 days in a week

IndiGo in a press release said, ※In line with the guidelines released by the Government of West Bengal, we are limiting the operation of flights to Kolkata, Durgapur, and Bagdogra from Delhi and Mumbai to only Monday and Friday.§ IndiGo also added that the remaining flights on these six routes will be canceled for the next three months. The airline has become the first carrier to curb the operations in the wake of spike in Covid cases across the country.

Notably, IndiGo at present, is operating around 25 daily flights between Delhi and Kolkata and 15 daily flights between Mumbai and Kolkata. Now, as per the state government guidelines, the airline will only be able to operate on these routes on Monday, Friday and thus the limited capacity may lead to an inflationary impact on the airfares on these routes.

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IndiGo has a Plan B

IndiGo in its press release also said that it will be reaching out to passengers and advising them of the cancellation and their options. As of now, it is in the process of informing the affected passengers. IndiGo customers can also click on Plan B: flight is cancelled or rescheduled? Worry not to choose an alternate flight or claim refunds.

Hong kong bans flights from India

Hong Kong announced strict new anti-coronavirus controls on Wednesday, banning flights from eight nations, including India, shuttering bars and gyms and cancelling evening restaurant dining after the Omicron variant was detected within the city.

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The restrictions are the latest economic blow to an international business hub pursuing a zero-Covid strategy that has kept cases low but left residents cut off from the rest of the world.

New Year season cancellations

More than 3,000 flights were cancelled around the world on Sunday, more than half of them U.S. flights, adding to the toll of holiday week travel disruptions due to adverse weather and the surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant.

Over 3,300 flights had been cancelled by noon GMT on Sunday, including over 1,900 entering, departing from or within the United States, according to a running tally on the tracking website FlightAware.com. Including those delayed but not cancelled, more than 4,800 flights were delayed in total.

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The Christmas and New Year holidays were typically a peak time for air travel, but the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant had led to a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights as pilots and crew quarantine.

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