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Spot air fares soar, Delhi to Mumbai ticket for Rs 25k

Passengers, instead of reaching their holiday destinations, are now chasing the airline for a refund and making alternative travel plans. Delhi-based

had bought tickets for the Delhi-Mumbai-Goa-Delhi sector for her family in the first week of January but now she has to cancel her trip.

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Flyers pay for choosing broke SpiceJet

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Panic grips SpiceJet’s 5,300 employees

NEW DELHI: The last-minute cancellation of nearly 400 flights since Tuesday by cash-strapped SpiceJet has sent spot fares soaring and upset vacation plans of hundreds of travellers who had flocked to the troubled airline on its promise of cheap fares.However, despite the uncertainty over the airlines’ ability to fly, the aviation ministry has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to allow SpiceJet to keep selling tickets for advance travel for almost the next three-and-a-half months.Shalini Dhawan“I am not going to spoil my vacation waiting in vain for SpiceJet flights to take off. I have sought a refund but not heard from the airline. Buying tickets now for the family is costing over Rs 75,000. I will have to shelve my trip,” said Dhawan, whose daughter is most disappointed at missing the sun and sand in Goa.SpiceJet had been luring passengers throughout this year with rock bottom fares to raise some cash and prolong the inevitable.As a result, thousands of people had planned their holiday travel during the coming Christmas-New Year season by booking cheap SpiceJet tickets.They are now a nervous lot, with two issues haunting them — will the low cost carrier (LCC) refund the money and the exorbitant cost of buying tickets now for their dream holiday destinations.Sudesh Ganguly had planned a trip from Delhi to Kerala via his home city of Kerala. The entire family was looking forward to flying off on the vacation.He, too, is now chasing SpiceJet for refunds and trying to salvage the shattered dream of the family holiday. “I may just go to Kolkata now and postpone Kerala to next year,” Ganguly said. Given the airline’s financial condition, passengers are unsure if the airline will be able to hand out refunds.Travel agents are, in fact, advising couples or families with young children of pre-school going age to plan a nearby foreign vacation after January 15 than try to book domestic flights on Christmas-New Year.“The outbound rush of students and NRIs returning from India to their countries ebbs by January 15. After that international fares drop. So those who can postpone their holiday to after mid-January (read those not with school-going children) can actually go to neighbouring places Dubai or Bangkok at much less expense than going for a holiday within India around New Year,” said a travel agent.