Umroi airport braces for resumption of flight service

SHILLONG: After a gap of two and half months, Umroi airport, the lone functional airport in the state with one direct flight to and fro Kolkata, is bracing for resumption of flights. Suspended since March last following nationwide lockdown, the five-day week flight operated by Indigo is expected to resume shortly.
The Airports Authority of India in Umroi airport has begun ground preparations for resumption of flights with all attendant protocols laid down by DGCA.
Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Wednesday, Director of the Airport, Manish Kumar Agarwal, said several measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of passengers as well as airport staff in.
Though it is unclear as to when Indigo would resume its services in Shillong, the Airport authorities have started preparing itself for the new normal under which every passenger would have to undergo thermal screening at the entry of the airport and the sanitisation of the luggage of the passengers would be mandatory.
As the protocols would take time, passengers have been asked to report to the airport two hours before the scheduled departure of the flight. The seating arrangements in the airport have also been rearranged for ensuring social distancing and distancing marks on the floor of passenger terminal have also been completed.
Agarwal also said that the airport also have placed soaked door mats for disinfecting shoes and the CISF personnel will also be provided with face shields, masks and gloves.
Though a large number of passengers are expected to check in at the airport with E-boarding pass, arrangements have also been made for those who do not posses smart phones.
The Meghalaya Government has already given its approval to Indigo to start their services from the airport and the air service provider’s announcement is awaited.