After nearly two months, Chennai will see first aircraft take off for Madurai early on Monday as the State government has finally agreed to resume flight operations. From handling 500 aircraft movements a day, now the airport will see fewer flights. The number of incoming flights has been limited to 25 a day, with minimum number of flights from Maharashtra and Gujarat owing to the high number of cases. There won't be any restriction on the number of departure movements, officials said.
Asymptomatic passengers landing in Tamil Nadu airports will have to be on home quarantine and if they don’t have a residence here, they will be sent for institutional quarantine at designated hotels, the State government said in a release. If they develop symptoms, they should report to the district call centre (1077) or a government hospital and will be isolated and taken for testing. Passengers who enter the State will be stamped with “quarantine” seal with date in an indelible ink, the release said.
Those passengers who don’t have the TN e-pass cannot enter the State. So they must book on the portal before landing here. For a few days, an e-pass desk will be arranged at the airport itself. Passengers who arrive can arrange pick up vehicles that can enter with driver plus one person. Prepaid taxis will be present at the airport for incoming passengers and will be disinfected after each use.
Officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said flight services will begin around 5 a.m. and go on till nearly 11 p.m.. Departing passengers will have to go through temperature checks at the entry point of the terminal. “We had a discussion with the officials of the State government on Sunday morning and spoke about the testing and quarantine procedures for passengers who arrive from various States,” an official said.
The terminals were disinfected and AAI held a meeting with airline and CISF staff. For the first few days, there may be confusion over the procedures, sources said.
“From placing sanitisers to seating arrangements, we have done everything that a passenger needs. Also, there are AAI staff present in case a passenger needs anything at the terminal,” another official added.