Flyers stranded with tickets for ‘ghost flight’

HYDERABAD: A large number of people, who booked a Go First flight from Hyderabad to Delhi on Monday were left stunned at the airport when they were told that no such flight existed. This despite the passengers having valid tickets with PNRs.
CISF personnel manning Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) refused to let the passengers in. The stranded passengers were told that the Mumbai-based airline had stopped operating on the route about a month ago.

Furious, passengers that TOI spoke to on Tuesday accused the airline of cheating and urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take strict action against the airline. They also demanded action against the online portal, Guwahati-based Happy Fares, that issued the tickets in the last week of October - weeks after the service was suspended on October 1.
The passengers were part of a group ticket, comprising 10 flyers, sold by the portal. Many of them had to cough up double the price for spot tickets. Repeated calls, texts to Go First went unanswered. The airline also did not reply to a questionnaire mailed on the issue.
"Why did the airline allow the portal to sell tickets when there was no service? Why was our PNR live on the airline website? We received absolutely no communication from either party," said a flyer who was travelling for a family emergency. She said how desperate calls for help to the airport staff and the airline number and portal yield no results. "We tried to call the number on the ticket, but the person didn't respond," the flyer, travelling with her father, added.
When TOI called the number on the ticket, he turned out to be Ankit Agarwal , owner of GoFlySmart, a sub-agent of Go First that buys tickets from the airline and sells these to Happy Fares. He admitted to a "slip" and shared an email sent to him by the airline on October 26, indicating that the October 31 flight from Hyderabad to New Delhi had "changed due to operational reasons". "But since the PNR was live on the Go First website, we thought the flight would be operated. There has been a mistake," he said.
Another passenger, Ram Kumar Thota, a civil engineer who booked his ticket on October 27, said, "Even after more than 24 hours and multiple complaints there is still no word from them on refund or compensation. They should pay heavy penalty for putting us through such physical and mental agony."
A quick scan on social media also threw up multiple such complaints from travellers from Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities. "I need help guys.. I have done a booking from @Skyscanner by @HappyFaresindia.. They are saying my bookings are not valid after paying the full amount.. neither I have more money to buy more tickets. Stuck at airport.. neither the @GoFirstairways staff members supporting helping," tweeted @NikitaT67548193 from Bengaluru.
"We admit the flight was suspended till October 29, but it was supposed to be operational thereafter. Even now, this PNR is reflecting on the Go First website, so we didn't realise it was not operational," said Shanthi Jain, owner of Happy Fares. He too was vague about the refund and compensation.