Domestic passenger flights will resume from Monday “in a calibrated manner”, the government said today. There may be fewer flights but Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said “it is not viable” to keep middle seat vacant as ticket prices would shoot up.
Flights were stopped in late March, when the country went into lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020. All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May,” tweeted Mr Puri.
The development comes despite some state governments, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, expressing concern on resuming flight operations during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers. In addition to this, certain state governments have been apprehensive of allowing people from locations highly impacted by Covid-19 to enter their borders.
A number of new rules and regulations are expected to be put into place that will change the flying experience. These include mandatory social distancing at airports, revisions in the way security procedures are conducted to ensure minimal contact, use of face masks and personal protective equipment by passengers and employees, among others. A variety of new health checks may also be instituted that could result in longer queues at airports and increased wait times.
Last month, the DGCA directed airlines to refrain from resuming online ticket bookings after Puri told them to restart the process only after a decision is taken to end the bar on domestic and international flight operations.
There is, however, no word yet on the resumption of international flights.
