After the US government's ban on large electronic devices for flights coming from the airports in some countries in the Middle East, Air India has recorded a boost of 100 percent in its ticket sales from March 25 to 31, 2017. From the usual 150 tickets per flight per day, the number of Air India's passengers from the said period was doubled.
As of posting, the electronics ban imposed by the US government does not affect any Indian country and every passenger of Air India are likewise allowed to bring and use their laptops and other electronic devices in the plane's cabin. According to a report by the Money Control, 83 percent of the seats on flights going to India came from the Middle Eastern countries affected by the ban.
Last month, the US government has implemented a ban prohibiting passengers from carrying laptops and other large electronic devices aside from smartphones. The ban was initiated for stricter security purposes and in response to the terror threats and attacks wherein laptops were used as devices for a bombing.
Gadgets that are subject to the said ban will be checked-in together with the passengers' baggage. The affected flights include those that are originating from Casablanca, Istanbul, Cairo, Amman, Jeddah, Kuwait, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Aside from the checking-in of devices, passengers who came from the said countries will need to go through a stricter security check with their handbags upon reaching their endpoint in the United States. And fortunately, passengers who are flying with Air India are spared from going through this process.
However, a source from Air India confirmed in a report by The Economic Times that during the second week, the airline sees 220 tickets per flight per day. From the total passenger bookings for the first and second week, the source said that the passenger percentage of Air India has jumped to 60 percent.
The airfares of Air India on flights bound for the United States start from RS. 86,000 or $1319. On the other hand, tickets from the airlines originated from the countries affected by the electronics ban are now offered at much lower rates.
