Coronavirus lockdown: Flight services resume in Andhra Pradesh

After almost two months of COVID-19 induced lockdown, domestic flight operations resumed in Andhra Pradesh as the first Spicejet plane from Bengaluru landed at Vijayawada airport early Tuesday with 79 passengers.

According to the Airport Director G Madhusudhana Rao, the aircraft returned to Bengaluru at 7.40 AM carrying 68 passengers. He said the airport also received an Indigo flight from Bengaluru with 48 passengers and departed with 50 travellers.

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He said as per the state government instruction all the passengers who landed here had to register their details with the state government's Spandana website. "As Bengaluru is a non-high sensitive area (as far as COVID-19 cases are concerned), the passengers who landed here were advised home quarantine for seven days. In case of high- sensitive areas the passengers will have to undergo either institutional quarantine or paid quarantine," Rao told PTI.

He said the passengers were handled as per standard operating procedures laid out by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Though the flight services were supposed to resume from Monday, they did not begin.

Last week, the Centre had announced the resumption of domestic flight services from May 25 under specific rules and guidelines like a cap on ticket pricing, wearing of face masks by passengers and making available details of medical conditions by travellers through the Aarogya Setu app or by filling up of a self-declaration form.

The central government's decision came as the aviation sector was reeling under severe stress triggered by the coronavirus lockdown that began on March 25. Many states have expressed serious reservations about the Centre's decision to start flight services.