To fly or not to fly: Tourists cancel or defer their bookings amid escalating tensions with Pakistan

PUNE: India-Pakistan tensions have cast clouds of doubt among holiday season travellers, with many facing uncertainty over whether to cancel pre-booked vacations.Nilesh Bhansali, the owner of Devam Tours and Travels and president of Travel Agents Association of Pune, said, "I have a client who was supposed to travel to Bhutan with his family on May 23. But they decided to hold their travel plans," Bhansali told TOI.He said another client who was to come to India via Emirates airlines inquired whether he should postpone or tweak the travel plans.Another travel firm representative said a group set to travel from Qatar extended their stay for a week. "Another client postponed London trip by a month," he said.'Reach airport three hours in advance'Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke on Friday said they had already started the secondary latter point security checks (SLPC) on all flights from Thursday late evening. "There are adequate security measures in place. Flyers need to carefully go through the instructions given by the airlines and follow them, including reaching the airport at least three hours before departure."Another official explained that SLPC means that after clearing the security check-in, passengers would be frisked again along with their hand luggage at the entry of the boarding gate. "If they are boarding via an aerobridge, checks will happen there in coordination with security personnel. Random checks of arriving passengers are too on radar," the official said.Koregaon Park resident Arun Sathe, who needed to go to Chandigarh on Friday for a meeting, deferred it till next week. Though Delhi was an option, he feared sudden closure of more airports.Shruti Pandey, a resident of NIBM Road area, cancelled her Thursday's trip to Chandigarh. "My family suggested against going to Delhi and then travel to Chandigarh by road. I agreed.""Several airlines have reduced or suspended operations, leading to a sharp rise in cancellations and rescheduling. Our focus is on providing timely guidance and support to travellers in impacted cities," Rikant Pittie, CEO, EaseMyTrip, told TOI.Magarpatta resident Karuna Saha, who had a vacation planned in Shimla next week, said they decided to avoid travelling amid tension.