Flights resume across the country today after two months.
Two months into coronavirus lockdown, India resumed domestic flights this morning bringing relief to the aviation sector that has been facing huge losses since the pandemic began.
The first domestic flight took off from New Delhi for Pune at 4:45 am, days after Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri made the big announcement on resumption of flights.
Among the states that had initially resisted the decision, Tamil Nadu has listed out SOPs for the passengers arriving in the state.
Last week, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu - home to some of the country's busiest airports in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai - had red-flagged the centre's plan to restart passenger flights
Last week, Hardeep Puri had indicated that the government was not in favour of quarantining passengers on short-haul flights and that the larger question of quarantining would have to be dealt with in a "pragmatic manner". "Why are we making a fuss over quarantine? Positive cases won't be boarding and there can be asymptomatic people. The quarantine issue will be dealt with in a pragmatic manner. We can't have 14 days quarantine... it is not practical," the aviation minister said.
Here are the live updates on India resuming domestic flights
Bengaluru Airport Resumes Operation Amid Some Web Check-In ConfusionCancellations and confusion were seen on the first day of the resumption of domestic flight operation at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport, which opened for passengers after being locked down for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Several passengers complained that they were not told about the mandatory web check-in rule, but hundreds landed or took off.
Read here. Restaurants Reopen At Delhi Airport.
Restaurants, providing contact-less ordering, reopen at Delhi airport.
Coronavirus Lockdown: More Than 80 Flights In Delhi Cancelled, Confusion At AirportsAs domestic flights resumed at several airports across India this morning after two months since the coronavirus lockdown was imposed, there was confusion and chaos at airports in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities as a large number of flights were cancelled and passengers complained that they did not get any notification from the airlines.
"Indians Soar In The Skies Again," Tweets Hardeep Puri
This afternoon, Aviation Minister tweeted images to show increase in air traffic after flights resumed.
Watch: Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma On Cancellation Of Flights
First Flight Lands In Chennai
Passengers from different parts of the country arrive at Chennai airport as domestic flight operations resume from today, news agency ANI reports. A passenger at the airport says, "I had gone to Delhi for internship, but got stuck there for two months due to CoronavirusLockdown."
Here Are the New Rules Of Air Travel For Domestic, International Passengers New rules for domestic travel during the lockdown were released by the government on Sunday, including advising passengers to download the Aarogya Setu application on their mobile devices and asking states to ensure thermal screening at departure point of airports, railway stations and bus terminals.
India's Civil Aviation Always On Forefront, Tweets Aviation Minister