The suspension of flight operations by Go First, a local budget airline owned by the Wadia Group, has resulted in losses of roughly Rs 60-70 crore for nearly 550 travel agencies in Kolkata and around 2,000 across Bengal.
The airline initially said that flights would be cancelled until May 5. However, tour operators reported that the earliest flight to Delhi was now scheduled for May 16 and the earliest flight to Port Blair was scheduled for May 20.
Even though the airline only flew from Kolkata to Delhi and Port Blair from Kolkata when it announced on Tuesday that it had filed for insolvency, many travel agencies had poured large sums of money into the airline’s coffers, with some purchasing heavily discounted future ticket series up until December 2023.
Over two thousand rupees are just sitting in my wallet. Some ticket agents have Rs 1 crore in their wallets because they bought a series of future tickets. Some travel agencies may go under if the airline fails. Passengers with Go First reservations are calling to want refunds. Their flights have been rescheduled with other airlines. However, the refunds cannot be processed until the airline releases the funds to travel agents,” said Amin Asghar, president of the eastern India chapter of Skal International, an organisation that brings together tourism professionals from around the world.
The three weekly flights from Kolkata to Phuket were halted by the airline around two months ago. As a result, several salespeople decided to stop advertising the company.
Associations of travel agencies said that passengers were more wary of flying with other airlines after the collapse of the affected carrier.
Due to the temporary cessation of flight operations by Go First, a domestic budget carrier owned by the Wadia Group, around 550 travel agencies in Kolkata and around 2,000 across Bengal are suffering losses of nearly Rs 60-70 crore.
The airline initially said that flights would be cancelled until May 5. However, tour operators reported that the earliest flight to Delhi was now scheduled for May 16 and the earliest flight to Port Blair was scheduled for May 20.
Even though the airline only flew from Kolkata to Delhi and Port Blair from Kolkata when it announced on Tuesday that it had filed for insolvency, many travel agencies had poured large sums of money into the airline’s coffers, with some purchasing heavily discounted future ticket series up until December 2023.
Over two thousand rupees are just sitting in my wallet. Some ticket agents have Rs 1 crore in their wallets because they bought a series of future tickets. Some travel agencies may go under if the airline fails. Passengers with Go First reservations are calling to want refunds. Their flights have been rescheduled with other airlines. However, the refunds cannot be processed until the airline releases the funds to travel agents,” said Amin Asghar, president of the eastern India chapter of Skal International, an organisation that brings together tourism professionals from around the world.
The three weekly flights from Kolkata to Phuket were halted by the airline around two months ago. As a result, several salespeople decided to stop advertising the company.
Associations of travel agencies said that passengers were more wary of flying with other airlines after the collapse of the affected carrier.
