Cancelled, rescheduled flights put US-bound students in a fix

Cancelled, rescheduled flights put US-bound students in a fix

Manju.V@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:31.07.2021 

Indian students with a valid visa can fly to the US to join their universities in August, but in the past few weeks, many have found their flights either cancelled or rescheduled. Air India sources said it’s collateral damage brought on by the continued restrictions on other categories of US-bound travellers from India.

On May 4, the US banned entry to some categories of non-immigrant travellers from India. “The flyers expected the US to relax these restrictions as Covid cases have gone down. So, they booked US flight tickets. But the restrictions haven’t been lifted yet, so this category of flyers have been cancelling their tickets,’’ said an Air India source. “A number of our fully-booked US flights now have many empty seats and so we were forced to cancel, reschedule. The students booked on these flights took the collateral damage,” the source added.

Two weeks ago, Ajay Anand (name changed on request), bought a Rs 70,000 return ticket from the Air India website for travel on the August 10 Delhi-NewYork flight. This week, the airline website said his booking had changed and directed him to their call centre. “I made multiple calls to the AI call centre, was put on hold for over three hours, but still couldn’t get my ticket rescheduled. So I cancelled the AI ticket and bought a return ticket to New York on a United flight for Rs 1.50 lakh, which transits through Frankfurt,’’ he said.

With transit hubs like Dubai and London shut for Indians, the options for US travel have narrowed down and fares have jumped. An AI spokesperson said after the May 4 US Presidential Proclamation restricting air traffic from India, some AI flights to the US had to be curtailed or rescheduled. “These were effected well in advance.” He said flight frequency will be more from 7 August. Efforts are being made to accommodate as many flyers as possible, he added.

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Air India sources said it’s collateral damage brought on by the continued restrictions on other categories of US-bound travellers from India