Air India allowing travel agents to sell seats only on select Vande Bharat flights, alleges TAAI
New Delhi: Air India is allowing travel agents to sell seats only on select flights under the Vande Bharat Mission and "other inventories have been blocked", the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has alleged.
Asked about the matter, Air India told PTI it has received several complaints from passengers about overcharging by agents or their sub-agents, especially on sectors with a high demand, and consequently, it has been "compelled to restrict access of distribution" on such sectors.
In a statement late on Thursday night, the TAAI alleged that at a juncture when economies are trying to revive and come back on their feet, Air India continues to play "monopolistic".
"After our repeated request to your good-selves, agents were permitted to book on the GDS (global distribution system), but now inventories have been blocked and selective sectors are only being permitted. This is totally unfair and biased," it added.
The TAAI has over 2,500 travel agent companies as its members. "We once again request you (Civil Aviation Ministry and Air India) to ensure that accredited member travel agents are given due respect and permitted to promote and sell airline seats on all sectors that are being operated by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission," it said.
Moreover, Air India should withdraw its statements asking the passengers to report any issue of overcharging by travel agents for flights under the Vande Bharat Mission, the TAAI demanded.
"Such communications (of Air India) are demeaning to our member agents in the trade who you call 'Travel Partners'," it said. The TAAI has written two letters on the matter -- one on July 30 and another on August 6 -- to the Civil Aviation Ministry and Air India.
Asked about the matter, Air India told PTI that it has been operating the Vande Bharat Mission flights under directions from the government to evacuate Indian citizens stranded abroad due to the cessation of scheduled flight operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This initiative is also serving Indians working/studying abroad to travel and rejoin their companies/institutions from India," the national carrier said in a statement.
It added that it has also been keeping fares at a very reasonable level, in spite of the mounting costs due to several constraints in India and abroad during the pandemic.
"After opening sales of flights to travel agents, Air India received several complaints from passengers of overcharging by agents or their sub-agents, especially on sectors with high demand. To address the issue, Air India has been disseminating complete information on country-wise criteria and documents required for travel to make the exorbitant service charges unjustifiable.
"For this, Air India has been compelled to restrict access of distribution of high-demand sectors to agents with the sole purpose of safeguarding the interest of passengers in these trying times," it said.
On July 29, Air India had said on Twitter that passengers booking tickets through travel agents on international flights operating under the Vande Bharat Mission must not pay more than the fares mentioned on the airline's website.
It had added: "Passengers facing any issue of overcharging by travel agents may kindly write to us on gmsm@airindia.in." Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country since March 23 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, since May 6, special international flights are being operated by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission to help people stranded abroad reach their destinations. Private carriers too have operated a certain number of flights under the initiative.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
