Cyclone Fani hits flight plans of several airlines

Pune: Several airlines are providing waivers in cancellation fees for passengers travelling either to Kolkata or Bhubaneswar as cyclone Fani is set to hit the coastal areas of Odisha on Friday.
The Central Railway Pune division cancelled two trains to and from Bhubaneswar. “Train number 22881 (Pune-Bhubaneswar Express) stands cancelled on Thursday. In addition, train number 11059 (CSTM to Bhubaneswar) has also been cancelled for Thursday and train number 11020 (Bhubaneswar to CSTM) also stands cancelled for Friday. The train arrives in Pune on Saturday,” an official at the Pune rail division said.
The official said they were also monitoring the other routes to and from Pune towards the eastern part of the country, mainly Kolkata. “Though no fresh cancellation or rescheduling has been announced, we have an eye on the situation,” the official pointed out.
When it comes to airlines, there are no direct flights from Pune to Bhubaneswar. There are five flights with direct connection to Kolkata. These flights are operated by IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Air Asia.
Arindam Palit, a working professional, who had planned a trip to Puri from Kolkata, said he was disappointed. “Many of us take connecting flights to Puri which has a beautiful beach. Seven of us had planned to go to Puri from Kolkata on May 5. We are already in Kolkata. Now, we will have to cancel the plan as the cyclone is said to be a strong one,” he told TOI.
Representatives of airlines said they offered connecting flights to Bhubaneswar from Pune hence the cancellation charges were being waived due to the cyclone. They clarified that the waivers were pan India and for all intending to travel to Bhubaneswar or Puri.
A spokesperson of Go Air, when contacted, said, “GoAir is waiving cancellation and change fees for these flights for travel between May 1 to May 5. Passengers are allowed to re-book within seven days of the scheduled departure.”
Even though Vistara does not have any flights in the Pune-Kolkata or Pune-Odisha sector, the airline made a similar announcement. “The cyclone is likely to impact Bhubaneswar and Kolkata on May 2 and 3, we are waiving the change and cancellation fee for Bhubaneswar and Kolkata flights for travel between May 2 to May 5. Fare difference, if any, will be applicable for date changes,” the airline officials said.
Air Asia said their flights from and to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata were cancelled while those from Visakhapatnam and Guwahati are being monitored.
A spokesperson for IndiGo told TOI that all flights to and from Bhubaneswar for Friday have been been cancelled. “We are accommodating passengers on the next available flights at no additional charge, waiving cancellation fee and refunding the full amount,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
SpiceJet offered a full waiver on cancellation fee and date change charges for travel to and from Jharsuguda, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam between May 3 and May 5.
The Pune airport officials, in a statement on Thursday evening, said all airlines and operators had been informed about the suspension of flights. “Resumption of flights will be with positive clearance from the respective Air Traffic Control,” Pune airport director Ajay Kumar said quoting a note from the directorate general of civil aviation.