The rush outside Delhi airport on Monday morning. (Express photo/Tashi Tobgyal)
India domestic flights resume: The resumption of domestic air travel after two months was not without hiccups as there were several flight cancellations and confusion over schedule at some airports.
Of the approximately 380 flights that were scheduled for today in the national capital, 82 (both departures and arrivals) were already cancelled by afternoon. And more than 20 flights were also called off in Bengaluru.
Indigo flight 6E643 was the first aircraft of the day to take off from Delhi airport this morning, according to news agency PTI. Those who boarded the first flight included paramilitary personnel, army men, students and migrants who failed to book a ticket on special trains being run by the railways.
A mother-daughter duo arrive at Mumbai airport on Monday morning. (Express photo/Nirmal Harindran)
Several flyers took to social media to register their grievances against airlines, particularly Air India. Many accused the national carrier of either cancelling without any prior notice or goofing up departure schedules.
“We just came back from the airport. Our flight was not on the list. Despite that, Air India is showing our flight on time. Helpline numbers and live chat sessions our not available at the moment,” Ruchi Chatterjee posted on Twitter.
We just came back from the airport,our flight is not on the list of airport staff carrying the list of allowed.
Despite that Air India is showing our flight on time.
Helpline numbers and live chat sessions our not available at the moment.— Ruchi Mittal Chatterjee (@RuchiMittalCha1) May 25, 2020
“My flight AI 515 from Hyderabad to Bengaluru got cancelled without prior notice, and in your website it still shows it’s on time,'” another passenger Mujeeb complained on the micro-blogging site.
Some claimed that the national carrier informed passengers of cancellations after they had reached the airport.
“Absolutely horrible from @airindiain. They told me the flight has been cancelled after I reached the airport saying that we can only notify two hours before the take off. How does this make sense when government is asking us to reach the airport two hours in advance?” Neelabh Pandey said.
Absolutely horrible from @airindiain. They told me the flight has been cancelled after I reached the airport saying that we can only notify 2 hours before the take off. How does this make sense when government is asking us to reach the airport 2 hours in advance?
— Neelabh Pandey (@NeelabhPandey19) May 25, 2020
Besides cancellations, there was confusion over quarantine procedures too.
In a message to the Karnataka DGP, Niveditha wrote: “I have a flight to Chennai via Bangalore. I received a message from IndiGo asking me to apply on Seva Sindhu. The portal asks for the Karnataka destination address. Can I just give the address of the airport since I just have a two-hour layover in Bangalore?”
@DgpKarnataka I have a flight to Chennai via Bangalore.i received a msg from indigo asking me to apply on seva Sindhu.The portal asks for Ktaka destination address. Can I just give the address of the airport since I just have a 2 hrs layover in Blore?
— Niveditha (@niveditha1106) May 25, 2020
Many even said they shelled out more to reach the airport as there were limited public transport options available.
At least 11 states and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir have mandated either institutional or home quarantine for arriving passengers.
The Centre has allowed the resumption of flights with one-third capacity. (Express photo/Nirmal Harindran)
Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Odisha and J&K have mandated either institutional or home quarantine for passengers flying to cities in their state. Some like Uttar Pradesh have also mandated registration of arriving passengers. However, Uttar Pradesh has different norms for passengers transiting through the state or those intending to make a short visit, as long as they can produce a proof of departure.
On Sunday evening, senior airline executives met Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola and other government officials to fine tune last-minute modalities, and to understand how to deal with a flurry of state government orders and guidelines.