As domestic passenger flights resumed on Monday, people across states scrambled to take the first flight out to go back home after being stranded away for over 2 months. India on Monday operated a total of 532 flights while around 630 flights were cancelled.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “From no domestic passenger flights yesterday to 532 flights and 39,231 passengers today, action has returned to Indian skies. With Andhra Pradesh set to resume operations from tomorrow & West Bengal from 28 May, these numbers are all set to increase further.”
A total of around 630 flights, more than the number of flights that took off, were cancelled on the first day of operations resuming in Lockdown 4.0.
Several states had initially raised objections to resuming flight services amid the growing number of coronavirus cases. Lack of clarity among state governments and the Civil Aviation Ministry led to several flights being cancelled at the last moment.
As passengers arrived in large number at the airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and other nodal points, many were told their flights have been cancelled. The stranded passengers complained of not being informed about the cancellation.
According to aviation industry sources, around 630 domestic flights of Monday were cancelled due to the Centre’s Sunday night announcement that there would be no flight operations in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and limited operations at major airports such as Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Even after repeated requests by the Centre, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh seemed reluctant in resuming flight services. Bengal, which is reeling under the twin crisis of coronavirus and Cyclone Amphan, has said a reduced number of flights will start operating from May 28.
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