January 17, 2022, New Delhi: As COVID cases started growing in India from early December led by the arrival of the Omicron variant of COVID, the Government of India extended the suspension of international flights further. Following that, various states and union territories also announced restrictions in mid-December to limit the spread of COVID thereby making domestic travel even more challenging. Many who had travel booked during the months of January-March revisited their plans and a subset of them approached airlines and hotels for cancellations. The rapid rise in Omicron variant led COVID cases also prompted some airlines to cut down capacity and as a result, some of them waived off ticket rescheduling fees and permitted them to rebook an alternate flight till March 31, 2022. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the number of domestic air passengers has been witnessing a fall since late December 2021 when COVID cases started surging and various states began imposing restrictions.

It can be recalled that the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 outbreak that reached its peak in April and May forced many citizens to cancel their travel plans. At the time, citizens faced teething issues to cancel their tickets for their travel scheduled in summer. Some travel agents or the airlines, trains, and even hotels did not initiate any refund, and citizens lost the complete amount while many are still following up for refunds. While some were able to retrieve a partial amount, others were asked to rebook for a later date. It eventually prompted the Ministry of Civil Aviation in April to hold meetings with representatives of airlines in connection with refund of credit shells of passengers. Some airlines waived off change fees on domestic flights while others provided free cancellation and rescheduling of flights. A Parliamentary Committee had told the Aviation Ministry about the need for rationalising cancellation charges and prescribing an upper limit that can be collected from passengers, along with a need to look at the entire structure on how airport concessions are given. A LocalCircles’ survey conducted in August 2021 to understand issues people faced with cancellation of their travel bookings due to the second wave found that only 12-13% of those who cancelled travel bookings due to 2nd COVID wave got timely refunds.

Amid the rise in COVID cases in the ongoing 3rd wave as many people cancel their bookings, LocalCircles has conducted another survey to understand how the cancellation process is working this time for flights and hotel bookings they had for Jan-March 2022. The survey received more than 20,000 responses from citizens residing in 332 districts of India. 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women. 51% respondents were from tier 1, 34% from tier 2 and 15% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

Of those who cancelled flight tickets due to COVID 3rd wave, only 29% were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents

The first question in the survey asked citizens, “For the flight travel that you had booked for Jan-March 2022, how did the cancellation process work?” In response, 29% said “Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation and refunded full amount”, 14% said “Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation but refunded partial amount”, 29% said “Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation and refunded a very small amount”, 14% said “Travel agent and/or airline did not refund anything but rebooked the ticket for a later date”. 14% couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, of those who cancelled flight tickets due to COVID 3rd wave, only 29% were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents. This question in the survey received 10,151 responses.

Though over twice as many citizens were able to get a flight ticket refund due to 3rd wave related cancellation as compared to 2nd wave, majority still ended up losing money to airlines

A similar survey conducted by LocalCircles during the 2nd wave had indicated that 12% of citizens who had booked travel were able to get a full refund due to cancellation of flights. During the 3rd wave 29% who have booked travel during Jan-March 2022 were able to get a full refund due to cancellation. Though over twice as many citizens were able to get a flight ticket refund due to 3rd wave-related cancellation as compared to the 2nd wave-related cancellation, the majority still ended up losing money to airlines.

Of those who cancelled hotel booking due to COVID 3rd wave, only 34% were able to get a full refund from hotels/travel agents

The following question in the survey asked citizens, “For the hotel stay(s) that you had booked for travel during Jan-March 2022, how did the cancellation process work?” In response, 34% said “Travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation and refunded full amount”, 13% said “Travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation but refunded partial amount”, 13% said “Travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation and refunded a very small amount”, another 13% said “Travel agent and/or hotel did not refund anything but rebooked the ticket for a later date”. 27% said “Travel agent and/or hotel did not refund anything and we lost the entire booking amount”. On an aggregate basis, of those who cancelled hotel booking due to COVID 3rd wave, only 34% were able to get a full refund from hotels/travel agents. This question in the survey received 9,974 responses.

Though over 2.5 times as many citizens were able to get a hotel booking refund due to 3rd wave related cancellation as compared to the 2nd wave, majority still ended up losing money to hotels

A similar survey conducted by LocalCircles during the 2nd wave had indicated that 13% of citizens who had booked hotels were able to get a full refund due to cancellation of hotels. During the 3rd wave 34% who have booked travel during Jan-March 2022 were able to get a full refund due to cancellation. Though over 2.5 times as many citizens were able to get a hotel booking refund due to 3rd wave-related cancellation as compared to the 2nd wave-related cancellation, the majority still ended up losing money to hotels.

In summary, of those who cancelled flight tickets due to COVID 3rd wave, only 29% were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents. In comparison to the 2nd wave, over twice as many citizens were able to get a flight ticket refund due to 3rd wave related cancellation as compared to 2nd wave, however, the majority still ended up losing money to airlines. Similarly, of those who cancelled hotel booking due to COVID 3rd wave, only 34% were able to get a full refund from hotels/travel agents. When compared to the 2nd wave, over 2.5 times as many citizens were able to get a hotel booking refund due to 3rd wave related cancellation as compared to the 2nd wave, however, the majority still ended up losing money to hotels.

Citizens on the LocalCircles platform have been suggesting that the Government should come up with a special policy for travel booking refunds till the COVID pandemic is going on, especially for airlines and hotels. This has the support of 90% of citizens saying they want the Government to come up with such policy as per the LocalCircles’ survey conducted in August 2021. Due to the lack of uniformity in cancellation charges by different airlines and hotel operators, the majority don’t approve of the existing travel booking refund policies during the pandemic.

LocalCircles will share the findings of this survey with the Central and State Governments so the issue can be taken up with the airlines and hotel operators, so citizens are not penalized for the cancellation due to the 3rd wave. Also, an effort should be made to come up with a uniform policy for travel booking refunds till the COVID pandemic exists.

Survey Demographics

The survey received more than 20,000 responses from citizens residing in 332 districts of India. 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women. 51% respondents were from tier 1, 34% from tier 2 and 15% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.