Flights To Resume Soon, Aarogya Setu App, Face Masks And Social Distancing Mandatory For Flyers

After nearly two months of suspension, flights are set to resume later this month, with a lot of changes that could be the new normal for flying. As per reports, limited flight operation is likely to resume after May 18, the day after the lockdown is scheduled to come to an end.

AFP

A joint team of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security Office, Airports Authority of India, Delhi International Airport Limited and CISF under the Ministry of Civil Aviation visited Delhi airport on Monday before the resumption of flights and took a detailed note of preparedness.

Initially, the flight operations will be limited to a select few routes, and the government had suggested that air connectivity should be limited to between green zones. This has been opposed by the airlines as most of the big cities including Delhi, Mumbai Bengaluru, etc are red zones. Routes within the distance of more than two hours are likely to be the first to be cleared to resume operations.

AFP

Once the flights resume, the passengers will have to report at the airport well in advance, at least 2-3 hours before the departure, as against the 45 minutes which was the norm till now. Passengers will also have to adhere to strict social distancing norms both at the airport and inside the flights. To reduce maximum contact, meals will be placed on the seats before boarding.

Initially, it was proposed that the middle seat will be kept empty, however, it is not clear yet if this will be implemented as airlines had opposed the suggestion. The use of masks, face shields, and gloves could also be made mandatory for the flyers. Another major change that is likely to be enforced is the use of the Aarogya Setu app for all the passengers to gain access to the airport.

AFP

Earlier, on Sunday the Ministry of Railways announced that passenger train services will be gradually resumed in India starting May 12. Booking will begin at 4pm on May 11. Initially, 15 trains with origin from New Delhi going to Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, and Jammu Tawi will resume.

BCCL

Passengers will be able to book tickets using only the IRCTC website or the IRCTC mobile app. Tickets will not be available at Indian Railways counters. Passengers will have to book new tickets as the tickets which were booked before the lockdown will not be valid.