After two months of being grounded, domestic flights to resume in India in a calibrated manner starting May 25, the minister responsible for civil aviation announced today.
Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020.
All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May.
SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by @MoCA_GoI.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 20, 2020
As you can see, the Civil Aviation Minister has stated that Airports and Airlines will be given guidelines to follow soon. These guidelines could focus on how the passenger experience will look like once air travel resumes. Some of the new processes to be followed likely include:
- Install a government-preferred app for CoVid-19 check
- No carry-on bags allowed on planes, everything to be checked-in
- Thermal scanning and a temperature check on departure
- No galley meal service, prepackaged catering for full-service carriers
- Physical distancing at airports
- Masks and gloves during the time at the airport to the duration of the flight and exiting on the other side.
- Compulsory online check-in for passengers before they arrive at the airport
Some airlines such as Vistara have already announced how they will handle the passenger experience going forward, and various airports such as Mumbai and Delhi have also been in preparation for a resumption of flights.
It is also expected that schedules will be light initially, and perhaps the government will be enforcing a fixed price of some sort on tickets as per this news report. Also, don’t expect all airports to receive connectivity right away.
More details will be updated when available.
It would be interesting to know how one would fly with fragile items like laptops without having the option of carry-on bags. Laptops are never safe among checked-in luggage. Another thing to know would be if quarantine would be forced after landing.