04 Oct, 2022 11:38a.m.

Points to remember on LTC rules for booking air tickets

Only the three Authorised Travel Agents (ATAs), namely (a) M/s Balmer Lawrie & Company Limited (BLCL), (b) M/s Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT), and (c) Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd., may be used to book air travel for LTC under all circumstances (IRCTC).
The Ministry/Department and the official, in the case of self-booking, are free to select the travel agent from the three authorised travel agencies for the booking of the ticket based on convenience and service quality. These ATAs won't receive any agency fees or convenience payments.
At the time of booking, government personnel must select a flight that offers the Best Available Fare for their entitled travel class, which is the Lowest Fare offered. Non-Stop flights within the timeslots shall be preferred. For the purpose of settling LTC claims, they must keep the printout of the relevant ATAs homepage that contains flight and fare details.
To take advantage of the most affordable airfares and lessen the burden on the government coffers, employees are recommended to purchase their airline tickets at least 21 days before the desired date of travel on LTC.
The Financial Advisors of the Ministry/Department and Heads of Department not below the rank of Joint Secretary in subordinate/attached offices are authorised to grant relaxation in cases of unavoidable circumstances where the booking of the ticket is made from an unauthorised travel agent or website.
Travel on a government account will not result in the generation of mileage points.
Employers advise their staff to steer clear of needless cancellations. Employees must submit a self-declared rationale for cancellations made less than 24 hours before planned travel on LTC. All three ATAs have been ordered to charge no cancellation fees at all. For any cancellations that occurred for reasons outside the control of the government employee up until that point, cancellation fees must be repaid.
It is best if employees only purchase one ticket on LTC for each leg of anticipated travel. Multiple tickets cannot be held at once.
Employees are urged to book tickets digitally through the Self Booking Tool/online booking website/portal of the 3 ATAs only, even though tickets may be handled by the office through the travel agent. To digitally book their airline tickets through the aforementioned methods for travel on any airline, employees must register their official government email addresses with these three institutions.