Air India extends suspension of domestic flight bookings till April 30

Air India has closed booking for its domestic flights till April 30 as the government considers phase wise opening of air services.

Domestic and international flights are suspended till April 14 as a part of country wide lockdown. On Thursday, civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri said international flights will be allowed on a case by case basis from April 15. For domestic routes too a phase wise opening is being considered by the government.

A senior Air India executive said suspending domestic network was an internal decision. Booking on international routes have already been suspended.

 "Opening flights for reservation can be done any time. It is not an issue," he said. The executive explained that airline may even operate truncated schedule to begin with and there could even be some state specific restrictions.  In this backdrop the airline does not want to create a liability of refunds in case flights are cancelled.

Other domestic airlines continue to accept domestic bookings beyond April 15.