COVID-19 lockdown: Total 532 flights with 39,231 passengers operated in a day; 630 cancelled

20:24 May 25

Domestic air travel resumed on Monday after two months even as a number of states were unenthusiastic about opening up their airports in view of rising COVID-19 cases causing around 630 flights to be cancelled.

According to aviation industry sources, around 630 domestic flights of Monday were cancelled due to the Centre's Sunday night announcement that there would be no flights in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and limited operations at major airports such as Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Consequently, many passengers reached the airports on Monday only to be told by the airline staff that their flights have been cancelled. Many people took to social media to vent their anger.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday evening, "From no domestic passenger flights yesterday to 532 flights and 39,231 passengers today, action has returned to Indian skies. With Andhra Pradesh set to resume operations from tomorrow & West Bengal from 28 May, these numbers are all set to increase further."

19:23 May 25

17:33 May 25

As many as 20 flights were operated to and from the Mumbai airport till 12:45 pm on Monday after Indian airlines resumed commercial passenger services after two months of COVID-19 lockdown.

The airport received around 1,900 passenger, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said in a statement.

17:31 May 25

Domestic air travel resumed at the Jolly Grant Airport here on Monday, with five out of six scheduled flights leaving for their destinations amid strict adherence to social distancing norms by passengers.

Six flights were scheduled for Monday, Jolly Grant Airport Director DK Gautam said here.

15:31 May 25

14:27 May 25

Flight operations begin at Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport

14:04 May 25

Students joyed as flight operations resume in Amritsar

13:50 May 25

Domestic passenger air services resumes in Tamil Nadu

As GOI today resumed the domestic passenger flight service, the first set of operation today begin in Chennai international airport.

The day's first service operation begun with departure of Indigo airlines flight and then spice jet flight to Delhi on 06.35 hrs and 06.50 hrs respectively.

Meanwhile, the first flight from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport since resumption of domestic flight operations, lands at Chennai airport with 29 passengers.

Around 35 flights are scheduled to operate from Chennai to various destinations like Mumbai, Benglauru, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Salem, Madurai today, in which 16 are scheduled to arrive and 19 scheduled to depart across the across the country.

Meanwhile, also from Madurai international airport the commercial air service to the cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Trivandrum resumed today.

The airport official conducts proper screening and surveillance activities amid COVID haul.

13:01 May 25

12:35 May 25

Domestic air services resumed in Kerala on Monday with Air Asia operating the first flight from Bengaluru to Kochi airport.

Airport sources said 42 passengers arrived by the flight from the garden city at 7 am and the state government guidelines were followed.

12:34 May 25

Domestic flight operations started from the Chaudhary Charan Singh airport in Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning, as passenger air travel resumed within the country after a gap of two months, owing to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

12:18 May 25

Domestic flights lands at Hyderabad Airport after resumption of services

Air Asia flight from Bengaluru was the first to land at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

On the other hand, a TruJet flight to Vizianagaram was the first to take off from RGIA with 12 passengers Officials of the RGI Airport and airlines took necessary precautions to ensure that the passengers followed the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the government.

12:14 May 25

As domestic air travel resumed in India on Monday after a gap of two months, the first flight arrived at the Patna airport from Delhi around 7.30 am, an official said.

Another flight from Mumbai, which was to land at 7 am, was delayed by two hours, he said.

12:00 May 25

12:00 May 25

Air India shall be allowed to operate non-scheduled foreign flights with middle seats booking for next 10 days", says CJI in Supreme Court while hearing urgent petition filed by Centre & Air India against Bombay High Court order to keep middle seats vacant in international flights.

11:58 May 25

5-year-old boy travelled alone from Delhi to Bengaluru

A 5-year-old boy travelled alone from Delhi to Bengaluru. His mother who came to receive her son says, "My 5-yr-old son Vihaan Sharma has travelled alone from Delhi, he has come back to Bengaluru after 3 months."

5 flights have landed till 9 AM at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International airport and 17 departures and 9 flights cancelled so far.

As domestic air travel resumed on Monday after nearly two months of COVID-19 induced lockdown, the airport will see nearly 107 flights departing and about hundred arrivals, as it begins operations.

11:11 May 25

Flight operations resumes at Lucknow airport with new rules

10:11 May 25

Vistara flight from Delhi lands at Bhubaneswar airport

A Vistara flight from Delhi landed at Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Monday after the government decided to resume domestic flights from today.

All passengers were screened before boarding the flight at Delhi's IGI airport.

Passengers deboarding were seen wearing face shields as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

10:10 May 25

Students, migrants take the first flight home after being grounded for weeks

As India resumed domestic passenger flights in a graded manner on Monday, hundreds of people reached the Indira Gandhi International Airport here to take early morning flights to their hometowns and workplaces.

Flight operations remained shut for two months owing to the nationwide lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Those who took first flights included paramilitary personnel, army men, students and migrants, who failed to book a ticket on special trains being run by the railways.

Many said they shelled out more to reach the airport as there were limited public transport options available.

10:08 May 25

Passengers observe social distancing at Chennai airport as domestic flights resume

Passengers at Chennai international airport observed social distancing on the first day of resumption of domestic flights amid the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown on Monday.

Tamil Nadu government has allowed only 25 landings per day.

All passengers were seen wearing gloves and face masks. They were screened before entering the airport. The airport maintenance staff is ensuring effective sanitisation and disinfection of the terminal buildings, including the vital and high touch point areas.

However, some of the passengers were disappointed as their tickets were cancelled.

"From March 15, we were stuck here in Tamil Nadu due to the lockdown. We booked three tickets for Mumbai last night but while reaching here our flight tickets are cancelled and there is no one to answer us at the help desk. We don't know what to do now," Viswanathan, a passenger said.

According to the airport authority, the IndiGo flight departed with 111 passengers on board from Chennai to Delhi at 6:25 am. There are 16 flights coming to Chennai from other parts of the country and 19 flights are departing from Chennai to the other states. These airlines are initially operating flights to Delhi, Coimbatore, Andaman and Mumbai.

10:06 May 25

Raipur Airport sanitised as flight operations resume today

As domestic flight operations resume today, the terminal building of the SV Airport in Raipur was disinfected and sanitised by the Central Warehousing Corporation.

Workers were seen disinfecting the airport wearing PPE kits.

10:05 May 25

Pune: First flight with 23 passengers on board arrives from Delhi as domestic air services resume 

The first flight from Delhi's IGI Airport, since the resumption of domestic flight operations, arrived here on Monday with 23 passengers on board, officials said.

A passenger, who arrived here along with her child said, "I was nervous before the flight but all passengers were taking precautions. Very few are people travelling right now."

Another passenger said, "I came from Riyadh 14 days back. I was in quarantine in Delhi. My report for COVID-19 came negative. The journey was fantastic. I faced no problems at all. It feels good to come back home after a long time. I was among the people who came back from Riyadh as part of the Vande Bharat Mission. I am thankful to the government for helping out."

Domestic flight operations have resumed today across the country after two months of suspension except in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

09:57 May 25

Inter-state flight operations resume in India

New Delhi: After a gap of two months, domestic passenger flight operations resumed on Monday amid reluctance by various states to open up their airports in view of rising cases of the novel coronavirus.  

The first flight took off from Delhi for Pune at 4.45 am under strict regulations recommended by civil aviation authorities. The first flight from Mumbai was to Patna and it departed at 6.45 am.  

Large number of flights were cancelled on Monday across the country.  

For example, aviation industry sources said, around 82 flights -- departures and arrivals -- have been cancelled till now at the Delhi airport.

States like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which are home to some of the busiest airports in the country, were reluctant to allow domestic flight services from their airports, citing swelling cases of the coronavirus infection in their states.  

The West Bengal government did not relent to a request by the civil aviation ministry to allow flight services.  

It was decided on Sunday that the state will gradually permit domestic flights from May 28 under strict guidelines. Andhra Pradesh too did not allow any flights on Monday.  

Airlines were jittery in resuming services as multiple states have put in place separate norms and conditions for quarantining passengers arriving there by domestic flights.

The government last week announced the resumption of domestic flight services from May 25 under specific rules and guidelines like a cap on ticket pricing, wearing of face masks by passengers, no food served on board planes and making available details of medical conditions by travellers through the Aarogya Setu app or by filling up of a self-declaration form.

The app gives colour-coded designation to users as per their health status and travel history. It helps the users know if they are near anyone who has tested COVID-19 positive.  

The government's decision came as the aviation sector was reeling under severe stress triggered by the coronavirus lockdown that began on March 25.

Many states have expressed serious reservations about the Centre's decision to start flight services.  

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar, Punjab, Assam and Andhra Pradesh, among others, have announced their respective quarantine measures for passengers arriving at their airports.

Some states have decided to put passengers in mandatory institutional quarantine while several others have talked about putting them under home quarantine.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday had questioned the need for quarantine if a passenger shows green status on the Aarogya Setu app. The green status signifies that a passenger is safe.

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, have been busy since Sunday night in further reworking their flight schedules.

Government officials said on Sunday evening that 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 handle 50 and 30 flights respectively everyday from Monday, they said. 

The Maharashtra government had requested the Centre on Sunday to keep air services in the state at a minimum possible level. Mumbai is the country's second busiest airport.

All the flights account for an equal number of arrivals and departures, the officials said.

There will be 'limited' flights from Mumbai starting Monday and as per approved one-third schedule from other airports in the state, said Puri on Twitter on Sunday night.

Puri also tweeted to say that maximum 25 flights per day can arrive in Chennai from Monday and there will be no limit on the number of departures. For other airports in Tamil Nadu, flights will operate as in other parts of the country.

The minister said operations will resume on a 'limited' scale in Andhra Pradesh from Tuesday following a request from the state government. Flights operate to Vijayawada and Vizag airports in the state.

The Health Ministry on Sunday issued guidelines for domestic travel, advising passengers to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices and asking states to ensure thermal screening at the departure point of airports, railway stations and bus terminals.

Asymptomatic passengers should be permitted to travel after being asked to self-monitor for 14 days, the ministry said.

Dos and Don'ts shall be provided along with tickets to travellers by the agencies concerned, said the ministry's guidelines for domestic travel through any means - air, bus or train. 

Inputs from PTI, ANI

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