Coronavirus pandemic | Flight booking open from April 15: AirAsia

However, on April 3 state-owned Air India said it has stopped bookings till April 30 and is awaiting a decision after April 14, when the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end.

PTI

April 04, 2020 / 16:50 IST

Budget carrier AirAsia India on April 4 said bookings for its flights are open from April 15, but it it is open to any change in case aviation regulator DGCA issues fresh directives on the issue. Domestic and international commercial flights in the country are suspended till April 14 amid the lockdown to curb spreading of coronavirus infections.

Most of the airlines have commenced taking bookings for their flights from April 15 onwards.

However, on April 3 state-owned Air India said it has stopped bookings till April 30 and is awaiting a decision after April 14, when the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end.

"Passengers can continue to make their bookings with us from April 15 onwards," an AirAsia India spokesperson said on April 4 in response to a PTI query.

In case there is any change based on the direction provided by the regulator, he said, "we will abide to the policies and notify guests accordingly.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show