Private airlines IndiGo, Spicejet, Vistara and GoAir have re-opened passenger bookings for flights starting mid-May in violation of aviation regulator DGCA’s explicit order.

“All airlines are hereby directed to refrain from booking tickets… Further, the airlines may note that they shall be given sufficient notice and time for restarting of operations. This is for strict compliance by all airlines,” DGCA Deputy Director General Sunil Kumar wrote to all domestic and foreign airlines on April 19.

State-owned Air India is yet to restart bookings for any travel.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri later in a tweet said that “since some airlines did not heed our advisory and opened bookings and started collecting money from flyers, a directive was issued to them on 19th April restraining them from doing so.”

As per leading online travel portals, low-cost carriers SpiceJet and GoAir have offered flights on various routes, including the busiest Delhi-Mumbai route, starting May 16.

A 16 May Spicejet flight from Delhi to Bengaluru is currently available at Rs 3,500. Indigo is charging the same price for the route for 1 June travel. A 1 June Delhi-Kolkata Vistara flight is available for Rs 3,800 while Indigo is charging Rs 3,400 for the same.

Airline industry has been hit hard following the lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country. Major airlines resorted to job or pay cuts or sending their staff on leave without pay.

Airlines had received much flak for taking bookings even as they were not allowed to and thus locking people’s money. In many cases, the money wasn’t refunded with airlines creating a ‘credit shell’ for their customers and agents for booking later.