Question : Flights under Vande Bharat Mission

(a) the total number of inbound and outbound flights flown under Vande Bharat Mission;

(b) the total number of passengers that have taken these flights;

(c) the details of the countries and foreign airlines covered under Vande Bharat Mission and Air Bubbles;

(d) whether there is a cap on air fares on air bubbles and if so, the details thereof;

(e) the average time taken by Air India to refund amounts for cancelled tickets; and

(f) the number of cancelled tickets for which reimbursements are yet to be processed and reasons for the delay?

The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)

(a) to (c): Under the Vande Bharat Mission, special repatriation flights have been operated by Air India group and private Indian carriers, along with chartered flights being operated by both Indian and foreign carriers. As per information provided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), till 28.02.2021, a total of around 19,000 inbound flights have brought passengers to India. Out of this total, more than 9,000 flights have been operated by Air India Group while the remaining have been operated by private Indian carriers and foreign carriers. The names of countries from where evacuation has taken place till 28.02.2021 along with number of passengers is available in Annexure-A.;

India has formalized air bubble arrangements with 27 countries as on 01.03.2021. These air bubble arrangements provide access directly or through transit facility to more than 100 countries. The names of countries with which air bubble arrangements have been formalized and the names of the foreign carriers which have operated under air bubbles are at Annexure-B.;

d) There is no cap on the air fares of air bubbles. The air fare is determined by market forces. However, under Vande Bharat Mission, the air fares charged by Indian carriers were regulated. ;

(e) The average time taken by Air India for refund in normal circumstances is 02 weeks. However, in wake of large scale cancellations of flights during COVID-19 pandemic and due to fund constraints, there have been some delays in processing refunds of these cancelled tickets. ;

(f) A large number tickets have been cancelled for which refund is still pending. The reason for the delay is mainly due to impact on revenue stream of the airline which was severely affected due to the complete stoppage of flights during lockdown period whereas fixed costs had to be incurred. ;

All refunds on cancellation of air tickets during COVID-19 lockdown are being processed as per the DGCA circular No. 4/1/2020-IR dated 07-10-2020. It may be noted that ticket refund is an ongoing process and refund applications from agents are being processed in airline offices.