Coronavirus: GoAir Suspends International Services, Offers Leave Without Pay Plan For Employees

Budget carrier GoAir on Tuesday announced suspending international operations and offering leave without pay programme for its staff on a rotational basis, amid sharp decline in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement to PTI, the airline said the sharp decline in air travel that it was experiencing was "unprecedented".

Against this backdrop, the carrier said it was temporarily suspending all international operations, starting March 17 until April 15.

"GoAir has also initiated a short term and temporary rotational leave without pay programme that will not only help the company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross section of our employees stay away from the workplace to ensure business continuity," the statement said.

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Earlier this month, GoAir said it will not charge any fee on cancellation or rescheduling of tickets booked till April 30 amid the coronavirus scare.  This applies for all bookings made between March 8 and April 30 and for the travel period between March 8 and September 30, the airline said in a statement.

The zero cancellation and rebooking fee offer can be availed if done up to 14 days before departure, GoAir said in the statement.

The airline's move came a day after IndiGo announced waiving of rescheduling charges on tickets booked between March 12 and March 31 for its domestic and international flights on similar concerns.