New Delhi: Indian skies will open up for domestic passenger flights from Monday after a gap of two months amid confusion over what quarantine rules may apply to the travellers but some states will see “limited” operations and the resumption delayed by up to three days.
Bookings had opened for around 1,050 domestic flights planned for Monday but the revised measures announced on Sunday have led to cancellation of several flights leaving hundreds of passengers disappointed. The airlines, which were allowed to operate one-third of their capacity, will now have to further rework their flight schedules.
Government officials said the airports in Kolkata and Bagdogra in cyclone-hit West Bengal will not operate any domestic flights between May 25 and 27 but will handle 20 flights each per day from May 28. The airports in Mumbai in Maharashtra and Hyderabad in Telangana will daily handle 50 and 30 flights respectively from Monday, they said.
The Maharashtra Government had requested the Centre to keep the air services in the state at a minimum possible level. Mumbai is the country’s second busiest airport. All the flights account for equal number of arrivals and departures, officials said.
Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were opposed to immediate opening up of their airports in view of rising cases of the coronavirus infection. The three states are home to some of the busiest airports in the country in terms of passenger traffic.
Pilots confused
Meanwhile, scores of pilots and first officers seem to be concerned over lack of clarity on quarantine requirements for them.
Several cockpit and cabin crew members have moved to their home towns from their base stations in the wake of the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25. Now, many of them are returning to their base stations to report for duty.
PTI spoke to many captains and first officers from different airlines, including IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet, about preparations for resumption of flights. Many of them raised concerns over issues like quarantine procedures, personal and family safety, and flying into regions badly hit by the pandemic.
“There is no clarity on whether I need to go into home quarantine for 14 days after returning to my base or show up for duty on Monday,” a pilot said, requesting anonymity. (PTI)
