Centre says some Airlines didn't heed no-bookings advisory; assures them of enough time

As some airliners and booking services had initially allegedly started flight bookings despite no instruction from the central government on the resumption of services, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has directed the attention of the airline services as well as the citizens to his tweets clearly stating the government's stand with regards to air travel. READ | India's Covid Test Count Crosses 4 Lakh; 17,265 Total Cases; 543 Deaths; 2,547 Recoveries He tweeted screenshots of his earlier tweets which indicated that the decision to lift the air travel ban "remains to be taken". Our views & approach on restarting flights have been clearly stated. On 2nd April, I said "A decision to restart flights after this period remains to be taken" & reiterated this on 5th. On14th when Lockdown extended, I said "we can CONSIDER lifting restrictions" after Lockdown. pic.twitter.com/LkXKkofKsY — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 20, 2020 On 18th April I again said "So far no decision has been taken to open domestic & international operations" & reiterated on 19th that "No decision has been taken so far to commence domestic & international operations." An advisory was also issued to airlines. — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 20, 2020 READ | India Officially Slams Pak PM Imran Khan For Bizarre Rant; Shames His 'abysmal Handling' In the following tweet, he opined that some airlines have overlooked the government advisory by resuming flight bookings and collecting money from the flyers, adding that the government has issued a directive to them to stop the booking process and also informed them that they will be given prior notice to commence bookings. Since some airlines did not heed our advisory & opened bookings & started collecting money from flyers, a directive was issued to them on 19th April restraining them from doing so. They were also informed that they will be given sufficient notice & time to commence bookings. — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 20, 2020 In the concluding tweet, the Aviation Minister reminded that the lockdown is in place in the battle against COVID-19 and the travel ban will be lifted when the spread of deadly pandemic is controlled and "poses no danger to the country and people". READ | Centre Questions Kerala Govt; Says Its Covid Relaxations Diluted MHA's Lockdown Guidelines READ | Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases At 16116; Telangana Extends Lockdown Till May 7

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Centre says some Airlines didn't heed no-bookings advisory; assures them of enough time

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri directed attention of airline services and citizens to his tweets clearly stating the government decision on air travel

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