There have been exponential increase in the number of corona cases in the past 1 week. More than 12000 new cases have come up and around 450 people have lost their lives in this period.

During such an emergency all countries should come forward and restrict foreign travel to avoid it from spreading. Airline companies, however, have displayed a rather cold stance on this outbreak. Their customer care lines are busy all the time. Even if you get through they just ask you to go online and file a feedback. It is quite surprising to see that even during the pandemic such as CoronaVirus, airlines are charging the same cancellation fee (which is basically 100% of the amount you paid while booking the tickets).

Unfortunately, I had booked @GulfAir flights from Delhi - London via Bahrain. There have been around 87 (33 new) coronaVirus cases in UK and 52 (14 new) cases in Bahrain. I am travelling with my senior citizen parents who are most susceptible to such infections given that the mortality rate increases drastically after the age of 60. These stats are quite scary. The government and airlines companies should take responsibility to help people in distress.

I want to urge our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family welfare to issue guidelines regarding free cancellations until the issue of coronavirus is resolved.