2014 was clearly not a great year for aviation. Three tragedies in the past year have instilled some fear and confusion in the minds of fliers.
Some passengers have decided to either call off their trips to South East Asian regions or opt for other airlines following the crash of AirAsia flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea off Indonesia, last week, say travel agents and passengers.
Mahendra Khanter cancelled his business trip to Singapore after the accident. “After three airplane tragedies in one year, I’m beginning to feel a sense of discomfort about air travel itself. If at all, I do travel on a later date, I certainly wouldn’t want to fly by Air Asia or Malaysia Airlines. I’m looking for other options,” he said. Last year, two Malaysia Airlines flights too were involved in major accidents.
“Obviously, I’m losing business by calling off this trip, but I think my safety is more important for my family,” said Mr. Khanter.
About 10 per cent of their clients have cancelled their trips to Singapore, said Krishna Rao of R.K. World Tours and Travels.
“They see it as a bad omen to fly to Singapore after this accident. A fear has set in among some passengers,” he said.
Some passengers are also asking for alternative flights, said sources. But travel agents said the trend would fade away with time.
Tushar Jain of Roundtrip.in said, “After the MH370 incident, there were quite a lot of problems and travellers just didn’t want to take Malaysia Airlines. The same thing is happening now with AirAsia, but this won’t last for long,” he said.
