Travel agencies are preparing to resume activities starting from next week, in the likelihood that the government shifts to the next stage of its ‘return to normalcy plan’, reports a local daily. The main issue is the travel tickets that were cancelled as flights were suspended to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The total revenue generated from tickets for March and April are estimated at KD 67 million.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation stressed that government will allow travel agencies to restart following initiation of the second stage, and the issue of refunding ticket money will be discussed. Before the curfew, suspension of flights, and halt to all business activities three months ago, travel offices were unable to refund the money of those who booked tickets with them. The issue of refund falls on the decision of the travel agencies, which are expected to refund the cancelled tickets once work starts, as many have received refunds from the airlines. The daily reported that it will take time to refund the tickets in cash instead of tickets.
According to the daily, many airlines are negotiating with citizens and expatriates for them to accept new tickets with a one-year validity starting from the date of cancellation of the tickets. All tickets were cancelled, as flights in Kuwait International Airport were grounded and other airports also halted air travel over the new coronavirus pandemic.
Those who receive the new tickets to their respective destinations at dates of their choice, once flights resume within coming months. Most interested passengers have recovered the value of their tickets purchased through airline websites or directly from the offices without problem, while many of them preferred to get tickets for future travel instead of cash refund, reported the daily.
The concerned airlines such as Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines and Turkish Airlines were praised for their support during this rough time. Tourism expert Kamal Kabsha revealed to the daily that a major damage was sustained by the tourism and aviation sectors in Kuwait because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and noted that about 5,000 employees of these sectors lost their jobs during the crisis. He said the Kuwaiti aviation and tourism sectors also lost billions in revenues, making it one of the largest sectors negatively affected by the coronavirus crisis.
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