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Kerala Floods: Administration goes out of way to help, airline fails

When the local administration, which was struggling to understand what I was saying was open to help, airlines are just thinking of profits.

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Rescuers transport a bed with an elderly sick woman as she is moved from her home to a relief camp in Chenagannur
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I have been closely monitoring the flood situation in Kerala as my in-laws stay in Aluva. I also was looking forward to my trip home (Aluva) on August 20 for Onam.

But as the rain fury continues, it got tough to speak to them. The news channels flashed that Kochi airport would remain shut till August 26, which meant I had to cancel my trip. The last communication we had with them was on Friday, when they said that the area was flooded and there was no electricity.

The next day we could not contact them and we were worried. I tried the helpline numbers. I sent a WhatsApp message to NDRF helpline, and to my surprise, it got delivered. I got through the Ernakulam administration helpline in the afternoon, but my language was a barrier. The operator spoke to me in broken English. I told them that I wanted to know if my in-laws were safe. The operator, like the NDRF, said if I wanted them to be rescued, they could help me immediately, but they did not have individual data.

The operator, who was pressed for time, was patient enough to get the exact location due to my poor pronunciation. She said she will speak to the Aluva team and get back to me. I was sure no will call.

Luckily, we got to know via an uncle that they all were safe. My phone rings, I hear Malayalam, all I could understand was that it was a follow-up call from Ernakulam administration. I speak in English and the operator understands the word safe. He says, "Ma'am please repeat safe and good." I follow his instruction, the operator replies: "We happy and bye."

On the other hand, I start my ticket cancellation. As the government had issued a diktat to airlines to be helpful, I thought it will be a cakewalk. My August 20 SpiceJet tickets were cancelled and a full refund was initiated. But during cancellation of my return Air India tickets (of August 30), the call centre operator said I will be charged a cancellation fee of Rs 3,000.

When the local administration, which was struggling to understand what I was saying was open to help, airlines are just thinking of profits.

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