On account of the cancellations and visa restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic , low-cost carrier GoAir on Tuesday announced a temporary suspension of all its international flights between March 17 and April 15 along with implementing a short-term temporary rotational leave without pay programme that will not only help the company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, but keep employees away from their workplace.
In a statement, the airline said the aviation industry has been one of the most affected as governments have issued far-reaching travel advisories , special events have been postponed or called off, customers have curtailed their individual travel plans and businesses have restricted the movement of their employees.
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“Knowing that this will put a financial burden on the affected employees and having studied what companies have done in other countries to help guide our plans, this decision was not taken lightly,” a spokesperson said referring to the two decisions.
The GoAir has daily fights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat, Bangkok, Phuket and Male from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kannur.
It also said it has enhanced all its cleaning procedures in the interest of the customers’ and employees health and safety. “There is nothing more important than this. We have also tried to put our customers at ease by offering them a waiver on change fees so that they can be confident about booking their travel today while maintaining full flexibility in the future. Despite going over and above to implement these safeguards, the sharp decline in air travel that we are currently experiencing is unprecedented,” it said.
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In addition to addressing short term financial and network requirements, the GoAir said airlines in India have petitioned the government for immediate support, as most governments around the world have already provided to their similarly affected airlines.
“We have also taken many immediate measures to make our business more efficient; measures that will help us create an even stronger airline in the long run. GoAir remains on track to receive 12-15 aircraft each year through the end of 2025 in support of our planned growth. We also reaffirm our focus and commitment to punctuality, reliability and the highest level of customer experience,” the GoAir statement read.
