After being grounded for 63 days by the COVID-19 lockdown from March 25, the flight service in the Salem-Chennai sector resumed on Wednesday with a service from Chennai landing at Salem Airport with 56 passengers and returning with 39 passengers.
Trujet Airlines flight departed from Chennai at 7.20 a.m. and arrived in Salem at 8.20 a.m. Special teams of the Health Department collected nasal swabs from all the passengers and stamped a seal on their hands that carried the date of travel. They were asked to remain in institutional quarantine arranged by the district administration or choose a paid quarantine in hotels in the city.
Officials said that once the test results arrived, passengers who tested negative could go home but remain in quarantine for 14 days. Those testing positive would be admitted to the isolation ward at the hospital here.
Disinfectants were sprayed on passengers’ luggage who were ready to board the flight to Chennai. Also, officials confirmed that all passengers had installed Aarogya Setu app in their mobile phones and wore a mask, after which they were allowed to board the flight. The flight departed at 8.50 a.m.
Airline officials said the flight would be operated five days a week, except Tuesday and Thursday.