More than 61,000 tickets for flights that were canceled because of the restrictions imposed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic had been sold since March until July 10. The buyers of over 17,500 tickets accepted other options than the refund of the ticket price, while about 3,000 buyers got a refund, director of the Civil Aviation Authority Eugen Coștei told Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Sergiu Railean in a meeting, IPN reports.

According to the Ministry’s press service, during the first six months of this year, there were carried over 506,000 passengers, a 63% decline compared with the corresponding period last year, when 1.343 million passengers were transported.

“In this rather difficult period for airlines, it is important to ensure the protection of consumers, primarily of passengers, and viable solutions should be identified so that they benefit from the services for which they paid or the passengers should be able to get a refund,” stated Sergiu Railean.

The officials also discussed the steps taken by the Civil Aviation Authority to implement the aviation health safety protocol and the institutional capacity to carry out the security audit of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Eugen Coștei said the financial situation of the air operators is under scrutiny and the quarterly reports are assessed by the CAA’s subdivisions so as to determine the sufficient financial capacity to operate.