Coronavirus: Air India waive cancellation charge, Aviation Min advises privateers follow

The Civil Aviation Ministry has said that it will insist upon private sector airlines to provide relief in cancellation charges to passengers in the wake of the deadly Coronavirus threat which has spread across 94 countries with 31 cases tested positive in India. He also added that India's flagship career Air India has already waived off cancellation charges.

"I am very happy to tell you that Air India has already waived cancellation charges. You know, Air India, is a little more subject to our persuasion. All the others are private-sector carriers. All I can tell you that we will be making suitable recommendations to the private sector carriers," Puri said at a press conference in Delhi.

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The Civil Aviation Minister has also taken to Twitter stating, "Universal screening being started at all International airports in India to detect coronavirus cases. As of 5 March, 6.5 lakh passengers travelling in 6550 international flights have been cumulatively screened at 30 Indian airports."

The spread of deadly coronavirus has severely affected the travel and tourism sector with people cancelling their trips in the wake of rising fear. While flights on South East Asian routes connecting cities such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Seoul have seen a sharp fall in passenger load, other international flights have also started witnessing poor bookings.

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Amid the increasing Coronavirus cases in India and other countries, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday released an updated travel advisory on the COVD19. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan have informed about the country’s preparedness against the coronavirus.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the fresh cases of COVID-19 had been reported from New Delhi, Telangana, and Rajasthan where an Italian national has been found positive with the infection in Jaipur. Last month, three cases were recorded in Kerala — who have now recovered and discharged from hospital.

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The deadly virus, that originated in China late last year, continues to spread around the world and has infected more than 80,000 people. While most of the cases are from the Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan (the epicentre of the outbreak), other countries including Iran, Italy, Japan, and the Philippines have also reported deaths related to the novel coronavirus.

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