The Department of Consumer Affairs has taken note of non-refund of money charged by tour and travel operators for the travel plans and flights which were cancelled due to lockdowns imposed in wake of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

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The department is conducting regular hearings on the matter where representatives of several tour operators including Yatra, Kesari Tours and others have been asked to appear for not refunding the money despite an order by the Supreme Court of India which mandated them to do so.

Additional Secretary at the Department of Consumer Affairs, Nidhi Khare told CNBC-TV18 that the government has noted that many tour operators inappropriately tried to either levy a cancellation charge or transfer the entire monetary liability to passengers despite a court order forbidding them.

Noting a spurt in refunds by operators since the hearings began, she pointed out that Yatra's pending refunds were now down to around 10,000 compared to around 21,000 refunds which were pending when the hearings before the department began. She added that the hearings will continue after replies by the tour operators are submitted.

On 1st October 2020, the top court had agreed with DGCA's suggestion for a complete refund of money collected by travel operators for flight bookings which got cancelled due to the lockdown imposed in India in wake of the COVID pandemic.

The court order mandated full refund of the booking amount on all cancelled domestic and international flights scheduled between 25th March 2020 and 24th May 2020, asking airlines and tour operators not levy any cancellation charge and initiate a refund within 3 weeks from the date of the ticket's cancellation.

In view of the financial distress faced by airlines, the apex court had allowed airlines to provide passengers with a credit shell equivalent to the collected fare along with an option to reschedule travel plans and interest on the booking amount. However, the court order had clarified that passengers not seeking a rescheduled flight by 31st March 2021 were eligible for a full refund, which still hasn't been made for thousands of passengers.

First Published:Jun 1, 2023 7:12 PM IST