Domestic Flights Resume In India: Things You Need To Know

After suspending all flights for two months, the Indian government has allowed domestic flights to operate again with a reduced number. Passengers started queuing up outside airports to catch early morning flights to return to their homes.

However, several passengers who were waiting for their flights in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other airports complained about how their flights were canceled without receiving any notice.

Here is everything you need to know about the resumption of domestic flights.

1. On the first day when flights started to operate again in India, around 80 flights departing and arriving at the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport have been canceled.

Passengers traveling from Bengaluru to Hyderabad on an Air India flight also reported that the airlines had canceled their flight without prior notice.

Another passenger flying from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai said that her flight to Delhi has also been canceled.

2. Till 9 am on May 25, at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, 5 flights arrived, 17 flights departed while 9 flights were canceled. The first Lucknow – Ahmedabad took off on the same morning while a Bengaluru – Ranchi flight took off with 173 passengers along with 3 infants.

3. Maharashtra agrees to let flights operate again but with a reduced number. 25 departing and 25 arriving flights from Mumbai have been allowed. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, West Bengal, which is damaged by Cyclone Ampahn, will resume flights from May 28.

4. Passengers will be screened by personnel in masks and face shields. Baggage is also going through thermal screening. On a Delhi-Bhubaneswar Vistara flight, passengers were seen covering their mouth and nose with face masks.

5. The government of Tamil Nadu has allowed flights to operate from airports in Chennai as well as three other cities. Tamil Nadu said that passengers arriving in the state would need to have an e-pass to enter and have to stay in their houses for 14 days for quarantine.

6. Outside airports, passengers arrive from the previous night to make sure they would not miss their flights. Most of them were stranded in different cities because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the total lockdown.

7. On May 25, bookings were opened for about 1,050 domestic flights but several were canceled. The airlines could only operate around 30% of their capacity.

8. Vizag and Vijayawada airports in Andhra Pradesh did not begin its operation on May 25 but started on May 26.

9. All passengers have been asked to download and install the Aarogya Setu app on their smartphones. They also need to arrive at the airport two hours before their flight's time and practice social distancing.

10. The price of air tickets will be from Rs 2,000 to Rs 18,600. These prices will be maintained for the next three months.

>>> India Suspends All Domestic Passenger Flights Starting March 25 Due To COVID-19