DoPT instructions on booking of Air Tickets for LTC

F. No. 31011/12/2022-Estt.A-IV
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training
Establishment A-IV Desk

North Block, New Delhi.
Dated 29th August 2022

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Instructions on booking of Air Tickets on Government Account in respect of Leave Travel Concession (LTC) – regarding.

The undersigned is directed to refer to the above-mentioned subject and to state that in view of the disinvestment of Air India and the consolidated instructions issued consequently by the Department of Expenditure vide O.M. No. 19024/03/2021-E.IV dated 16.06.2022, which is also applicable in the case of air journey in respect of LTC, it has been decided that:

1. In all cases of air travel in respect of LTC, air tickets shall be purchased only from the three Authorized Travel Agents (ATAs), namely:
   1. M/s Balmer Lawrie & Company Limited (BLCL),
   2. M/s Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT),
   3. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC).
2. The choice of the travel agent for booking tickets from the three authorized travel agents is left open to the Ministry/Department and the official in case of self-booking, based on convenience and service quality. No agency charges/convenience fees will be paid to these ATAs.
3. Central Government employees are to choose a flight having the Best Available Fare on their entitled travel class which is the Cheapest Fare available, preferably for a Non-stop flight in a given slot, mentioned below, at the time of booking. They are to retain the print-out of the concerned webpage of the ATAs having flight and fare details for the purpose of the settlement of the LTC claims.
   1. On the day of travel in the desired 3 hours slot of the following time band — 00:00 hours to 03:00 hours, 03:00 hours to 06:00 hours, 06:00 hours to 09:00 hours, 09:00 hours to 12:00 hours, 12:00 hours to 15:00 hours, 15:00 hours to 18:00 hours, 18:00 hours to 21:00 hours, 21:00 hours to 24:00 hours.
   2. With the provision of optimisation within a 10% price band, for convenience and comfort.
4. Employees are encouraged to book flight tickets at least 21 days prior to the intended date of travel on LTC, to avail of the most competitive fares and minimize the burden on the exchequer.
5. Employees are also encouraged to avoid unnecessary cancellations. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before intended travel on LTC, will require the submission of a self-declared justification by the employee. All three ATAs have been directed to provide zero/nil cancellation charges. Till then, cancellation charges are to be reimbursed for all cases where cancellation was due to circumstances/reasons beyond the control of the Government employees.
6. Employees should preferably book only one ticket for each leg of intended travel on LTC. Holding more than one ticket is not allowed.
7. While tickets may be arranged by the office through the travel agent, employees are encouraged to make ticket booking digitally through the Self Booking Tool/online booking website/portal of these 3 ATAs only. Employees must register their official Government Email-Id with these three agencies to book their air tickets digitally through the above modes for travel by any airline.
8. In case of unavoidable circumstances, where the booking of the ticket is done from an unauthorized travel agent/website, the Financial Advisors of the Ministry /Department and Head of Department not below the rank of Joint Secretary in subordinate/attached offices are authorized to grant relaxation.
9. No Mileage Points will be generated against travel on the Government account.

Provisions for Advances

1. Government employees entitled to air travel may apply for LTC advance with the print-out of the concerned webpage of authorized travel agency having suitable flight and fare details while tracking the fare of the flight under the three-hour time slot, as mentioned at Para l{iii)(a) above, at least 30 days prior to the intended date of the journey.
2. Government employees not entitled to air travel and who wish to travel by air but not under the Special Dispensation Scheme may apply for LTC advance with reference to Rail/Bus fare.
3. Those Government employees who are not entitled to air travel but who wish to travel by air under the Special Dispensation Scheme may apply for LTC advance with reference to Rail/Bus fare from their Headquarters/place of posting up to Kolkata/Guwahati/ Chennai/Visakhapatnam/Delhi/Amritsar plus airfare (indicated in print-out of the concerned webpage of authorized travel agency having suitable flight and fare details) from the relevant railhead in Kolkata/ Guwahati/ Chennai/ Visakhapatnam/ Delhi/ Amritsar till the place of visit in North East Region/Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir/ Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar/Union Territory of Ladakh.

Provisions for Reimbursements

1. In case, at the time of actual booking of the ticket after receiving the advance, there is any difference in fare owing to the time gap between the request for advance and grant of advance, the difference in fare will be adjusted at the time of settlement of LTC claim.
2. In all cases wherein the non-entitled Government employees travel by air under the Special Dispensation Scheme directly from their Headquarters/place of posting to the place of visit in NER/J&K/A&N/Ladakh, the Government employees must take the print-out of the concerned webpage having flight and fare details of the flight for relevant railhead viz. Kolkata/ Guwahati/ Delhi/ Amritsar/ Chennai/ Vishakhapatnam to the place of visit viz. NER or UT of J&K or UT of Ladakh or UT of A&N within the same time slot where the direct flight has been booked for the purpose of reimbursement. In case the flight tickets are not available in the same slot, the printout of the details of the flights available in the next slot may be retained.
   In such cases, the reimbursement will be restricted to the actual airfare for the direct journey or the fare entitled under the Special Dispensation Scheme, whichever is less.
3. Government employees not entitled to air travel and who wish to travel by air but not under the Special Dispensation Scheme, are also required to book their air ticket through only the three ATAs mentioned above irrespective of the booking time limit. However, the reimbursement will be restricted to the actual airfare or the entitled train/bus fare for the shortest route, whichever is a

(Satish Kumar)
Under Secretary to the Government of India
Tel: 2304 0341

To
All Secretaries of Ministries/Departments
(As per Standard List) :

Copy to:

1. Comptroller & Auditor General of India, New Delhi.
2. Union Public Service Commission, New Delhi.
3. Central Vigilance Commission, New Delhi.
4. Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi.
5. Parliament Library, New Delhi.
6. All Union Territory Administrations
7. Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
8. All Attached and Subordinate Offices of Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pensions.
9. Hindi Section for Hindi version.

Source: DOPT