Runway repairs at airports such as Khajuraho and Varanasi, which will take over two months to complete, confusion over flight schedules and lack of clarity from the government have thrown travel plans of several foreign tourists into a tailspin. Itineraries of over 100 groups of foreign tourists, which were drawn up over a year ago, are said to be threatened by the repairs and the ensuing confusion. According to travel operators, the groups will have to make major changes to their itinerary.
“At the moment no seats are available from and to Khajuraho from the first week of March till the end of May. Checking with Air India and Jet Airways, who operate on this sector, has fetched us no results,” said. Abraham George of Incredible Vacations India. George, who has group bookings from the United States scheduled in March and April, has contacted various travel trade bodies, and has been given to understand that the Varanasi airport will be closed from March 10 onwards for extension of the runway for a few hours every day. But, the Charni Road-based travel agent said that airport authorities in Varanasi have apparently not received any official mail of closure from the civil aviation ministry, or the Airport Authority of India. Surprisingly, airlines don’t seem to be aware of this development. “Currently, schedules have not been changed. People continue to purchase tickets from and to Varanasi at present. They will be shifted to inconvenient time schedules,” George said.
According to travel agents, the chaos might cause them to cancel tickets, and booking fresh tickets at the last minute will cost them massive amounts of money. “If the airport closures are indeed happening, people should be informed, and be given a clear picture,” said Pronab Sarkar, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators.
31/01/17 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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“At the moment no seats are available from and to Khajuraho from the first week of March till the end of May. Checking with Air India and Jet Airways, who operate on this sector, has fetched us no results,” said. Abraham George of Incredible Vacations India. George, who has group bookings from the United States scheduled in March and April, has contacted various travel trade bodies, and has been given to understand that the Varanasi airport will be closed from March 10 onwards for extension of the runway for a few hours every day. But, the Charni Road-based travel agent said that airport authorities in Varanasi have apparently not received any official mail of closure from the civil aviation ministry, or the Airport Authority of India. Surprisingly, airlines don’t seem to be aware of this development. “Currently, schedules have not been changed. People continue to purchase tickets from and to Varanasi at present. They will be shifted to inconvenient time schedules,” George said.
According to travel agents, the chaos might cause them to cancel tickets, and booking fresh tickets at the last minute will cost them massive amounts of money. “If the airport closures are indeed happening, people should be informed, and be given a clear picture,” said Pronab Sarkar, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators.
31/01/17 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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