Third wave woes fliers to and from Kolkata – Times of India

City-based medical equipment dealer Sanwar Agarwal goes on business tours to Delhi and Mumbai at least thrice a month and usually flies back the same day. But the restrictions imposed to control the Covid third wave and the frequent flight cancellations have made travel a really difficult proposition for people like him. “I have a meeting in Delhi on January 11. Earlier, I would have flown back the same day, but now, I have booked a flight a day before, booked a hotel for two nights and will be flying back a day after the meeting. It’s not just a waste of time and money, but I know the trip as a whole will be full of problems,” he said.
On the other hand, Bhavesh Shah, another businessman, couldn’t get a direct flight from Delhi to Kolkata. “I have to reach Kolkata next week. So I ended up booking a flight to Bhubaneswar and then on to Kolkata. I understand the health crisis our country is facing. But those who travel regularly are facing a lot of problems right now. I hope things get better soon,” he said.
Banker Paramita Ghosh had to take a similar step while returning to city from a conference in Mumbai last week. “I had to return via Bagdogra and it took an extra day to reach Kolkata. But it was the stress of the journey that really got to me,” she said.
International fliers a worried lot
While those making domestic trips are somehow managing to get home, overseas travelers are facing a bigger issue — flight cancellations.
Sampurna Ghosh, a PhD student in Canada, flew home to Kolkata during the Christmas holiday and was scheduled to fly back to Toronto on January 11. “I want to reschedule the flight owning to some personal reasons, but simply can’t get any flight till the first week of February,” she rued. Another PhD student based in the US, Upasana Ganguly, who had flown home during the Christmas holidays, is facing a similar situation. “Now I am stuck here. Even on the flight home, I had to pay more than double the usual fare as there were hardly any flights. I also had to come via Delhi. So the travel time and cost has increased by a large margin. Many domestic flights are also getting cancelled randomly, so I am worried whether I would be able to fly to Delhi on time to catch my flight back to the US,” she said.
Sarthak Mondol, a professional based in Sheffield in the UK, had come home to Kolkata for a holiday and was supposed to fly back last Sunday. “But my flight got cancelled. Now after a lot of effort, I got my return tickets to the UK on January 24. The rush for international tickets is very high amidst of all these restrictions and getting one is a real tough job now,” he said.

A gloomy time for the tourism industry
The tour planners in Kolkata are having a tough run since the Bengal government imposed the fresh set of curbs on January 3. Vicky Shaw, co-owner of a travel agency, said they have been getting only cancellation requests since the first week of January. “October, November and December had been really good, and business was almost on a par with pre-COVID times. Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan and Kashmir were hot destinations and we had loads of bookings. But now, we are back to square one,” he said.
Anil Punjabi, chairman, eastern region, Travel Agents Federation of India, said, “International travellers are facing a lot of problems. There are very limited international flights from Kolkata at this point, so the rush is tremendous. Now a person travelling abroad must travel via Delhi or Mumbai, so that’s an added expenditure and effort. Flights to Delhi and Mumbai are operating only three times a week, so the fares are on the higher side as the demand is very high. Getting the right domestic flight to catch an international flight from Delhi or Mumbai on the same day is a big task now.”