Air India bans local agents from booking tickets for Canada sector

As the world is opening up after a long hiatus of the COVID 19 pandemic, Air India has banned some local agents from booking tickets for the Canadian sector. The airline took the step after finding the agents were doing malpractice and were profiteering from the now surging demand after two years of travel curbs.

Air India found that agents were not following the proper procedure in selling tickets. These agents were blocking seats at lower prices and they were selling them at higher prices. They were causing a huge loss to the airline.

Air India Now Offers Direct Online Bookings to Canada

The sources close to the airline revealed that now customers can directly book flights to Canada through the Air India website. Passengers can also call on airline’s customer service to book tickets to Canada.

Though the airline has taken this step to stop malpractice done by a few agents it can cause flight bookings to Canada during this summer season. As the governments of India and Canada have now announced the resumption of regular international flights which were banned due to the COVID 19 breakout.

It is expected that there will be a surge during this summer season as the Indian diaspora in Canada might visit India after a gap of two years. Also, many Indian students are expected to travel to Canada during this summer season.

Unhappiness by TAFI

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has expressed its unhappiness with the decision as Overseas agents can sell India – Canada tickets and the ban on Indian agents has been described as discriminatory.

Air India is now owned by Tata Group and this move by the company reflects the storied conglomerate’s value system built around equity, stakeholder responsibility, and fairness. The Tata Group won the ownership bid of Air India and the airline was handed over to the group in January this year.