460 domestic flights carrying 34,336 passengers were operated on Wednesday: Minister (Feature)
New Delhi:
A total of 367 domestic flights carrying 30,136 passengers operated nationwide until 5 p.m. Thursday, said Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri, even as West Bengal airports resumed operations after an interval of two months.
Earlier today, Puri said 460 domestic flights carrying 34,336 passengers were operated on Wednesday.
Domestic flights resumed on Monday in India after an interval of two months. However, on Sunday evening, Puri said that West Bengal would handle domestic flights from Thursday.
“The figures for domestic flights for May 28, 2020 are indicated. Departures 367, 30,136 passengers processed. Arrivals 310, 25,530 passengers processed. Total movements 677 with 55,666 no passengers at airports. Total number of passengers 30 136. These are numbers until 5:00 p.m. for day 4, “Puri said in a tweet.
A total of 428 domestic flights carrying 30,550 passengers and 445 domestic services carrying 62,641 travelers were operated in the country on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
In February this year, when the lockdown was not enforced, about 4.12 lakh passengers traveled daily on domestic flights to India, according to data from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
In the run-up to the foreclosure, Indian airports handled about 3,000 domestic flights a day, aviation industry sources said.
“India is flying high. Figures for domestic operations for May 27, 2020 (until 11:59 p.m.): Departures 460 with 34,336 passengers processed. Arrivals 464 with 33,525 passengers processed,” Puri said earlier today on Twitter.
If a flight takes off before midnight and lands in another airport after midnight, its departure and arrival are counted on different days, which results in an apparent discrepancy in the figures for a particular day.
Delhi Airport, India’s busiest airport, is expected to handle 147 departures and 145 arrivals Thursday, senior government officials have said.
International passenger flights remain suspended in the country. All scheduled domestic passenger services were suspended in India from March 25 to May 24 due to restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic.
The airports of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have been allowed to handle a limited number of daily flights, as these states do not want a massive influx of travelers from the growing number of cases of COVID-19.
While domestic services resumed Tuesday in Andhra Pradesh, they resumed Thursday in West Bengal.
Although domestic flight operations across the country began on May 25, they could not be restarted in Calcutta and Bagdogra because state machines were involved in the relief and restoration work after the devastation of Cyclone Amphan.
“Welcome back, passengers! Kolkata Airport saw the arrival of 122 passengers from @DelhiAirport after two long months and 40 passengers left for Guwahati. Appropriate checks were followed and regular disinfection was carried out in a terminal that was buzzing with passengers, “the Kolkata Airport tweeted.
Eleven flights took off from Kolkata on Thursday and an equal number arrived in the city, sources at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose international airport said.
“A total of 1,745 passengers arrived and 1,214 passengers took off from the city today (Thursday),” said airport sources.
Kolkata and Bagdogra airports are authorized to operate 20 daily flights each from Thursday.
Although it is not clear how many flights were processed by Bagdogra Airport on Thursday, officials said 899 passengers arrived while 484 passengers took off from the airport during the day.
The West Bengal government has recently developed a set of guidelines for people arriving in the state on domestic flights.
According to him, those entering the state from Thursday must submit a self-declaration form, indicating that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two months.
Passengers will also be required to undergo a health examination after arriving at the airport, as directed by the state.
