Update: Current situation with Mumbai Airport is updated here.
A couple of days ago, Indian authorities announced the resumption of domestic flights in India, with several safeguard measures in place. Ticketing opened yesterday and is going strong. One of the assurances given to everyone at the time of relaunching flights by the ministry was that there would be one India one policy and people won’t have to fear getting locked down in the other state with a quarantine.
Now, various states have started to bring up their own rules, many of whom want to quarantine people on arrival into the state. This move is bound to catch flyers unaware since this will make their journey back home very tedious and add another period of separation from their families.
Maharashtra has now clarified its stance on the situation. With Maharashtra having almost 1/3rd of India’s CoVid-19 cases, the state does not want to bring in more cases in the cities which are the hotbed of the virus. So, Mumbai and Pune are not going to be able to have flight operations for the time being. But Maharashtra is alright if flights arrive in other cities such as Nagpur and Nanded.
While many versions are floating around, this is the version of the Home Minister of Maharashtra on NDTV today.
#Watch | "Until the #coronavirus cases flatten out, will will have to wait for the flights to land in Mumbai and Pune": Amit V Deshmukh, Maharashtra minister on @LRC_NDTV pic.twitter.com/db9q49GfaE
— NDTV (@ndtv) May 23, 2020
Here is another set of tweets from him to the same effect.
Getting passengers to come from a green zone to a red one putting them to risk of exposure doesn't make sense.
Keeping a busy airport up & running with all Covid-safety measures will need huge staff presence and compound risk in the red zone.#PlanningOverAdHocism
— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) May 23, 2020
On the other hand, the Maharashtra government says that the lockdown terms have not been amended, which bars air travel through May 31, 2020.
Bottomline
It does not look like there will be flight operations, come Monday, May 25 on airports across Maharashtra. There is a lot of confusion, and new rules seem to keep popping up.
What are you placing your bets on? Will flights be operating on May 25 out of Mumbai or Pune Airport?
Thank you for sharing about Maharashtra flight news , these will be really helpful for me. I love reading this blog; it talks so much about planning a great idea about it. Keep sharing such informative articles in future, will be appreciated.
My daughter and her two teen aged sons, visiting us from Kolkata, are stuck up in Mumbai since 22nd March ’20. She had a confirmed flight tkt for 30th March ’20, which was cancelled. They booked another set of tkts on the announcement that air travel will commence after the 1st lockdown. This flight also got cancelled. And now with Central Govt. announcing start of Air travels on 25th May ’20 she booked the first flight to Kolkata for early morning of 25th. Now the Maharashtra Govt. wouldn’t allow the flight to go. Again the tkts stand cancelled. The airlines refuses to refund the amount of all the three set of tkts.
Countries around the world are taking steps to help all section of their countrymen with monetary reliefs and here the Government cannot stop these airlines amassing cash from helpless citizens. Why can’t the Gov’t issue ordinance for airlines to refund the money of the tkts for which there was no flights operated ?
As per last update from CMO Maharashtra, 50passenger flight movement now allowed from Mumbai
If the lock down is not lifted, people would die economically, the State Government must understand
It’s a classic example of poor planning
This situation is due to the lack of communication between Centre and State Govt. One has to wait and try to understand the problems of states.
There should not be Quarantine issues for air travellers because almost all types of safety measures are taken care of.
Dr Ramkrishna Londhe
It’s all politic what they are playing now as people has booked the flight now new rules are coming. Government doesn’t know the suffering what people has to go for. I don’t know what government is doing on sake of lockdown cases are still increasing and what precaution they are taking god know.
How long do they expect people to stay stranded in a place inside the country and not go home back to their near and dear ones. Are 2 months – 60 days not enough for planning how to go about the opening up ??!! When people out side the country can be brought back safely, can’t people inside the country be allowed to return tk their families?!!! Pathetic!!
There should be a matured government to look into these matter.upto when citizens of country will suffer. They should allow domestic flights from and to Mumbai.
Agreed…since virus is here to stay..
Wow… Hardeep Singh Puri…. Green in Aarogya setu is the vaccine for corona…. other gem of his is what is social distance… what is middle seat after all…what is the fuss about sharing hand rests or touching each other….if demand is more ..will even permit standing class if the flight is full for the crony airlines who dont pay thier staff during corona…. and quarantine ..what is that….. he is going to be creator of super spreaders…. one citizen one ration card…however one govt and many stands…. he has forcing PM to re-define social distancing from 2 meters to 2 inches
This is a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
I have my BOM-BLR with Air Asia flight on 30th May and I as able to successfully web check in for the same.
Yesterday night when I was trying to change my flight due to the Karnataka govt quarantine restrictions, I learned that because I was checked in, I could not change my flight.
And now the Maharashtra govt has told us that there are going to be no flights in May.
The civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri claimed that if we have a green status and a test done which proves we are covid negative, then there is no need for quarantine.
There are various contradictory statements being given out. The center says one thing, the states are saying another thing.
So I am presuming the BOM-BLR flight should get cancelled ? As this is a decision by the state govts ?
Or does the centre over-rule the states ?
Okay, an update:
I got an SMS from Air Asia where they have claimed that due to the fact that I did not self declare, they have un-checked me from that flight.
I have now rescheduled the flight to 13th June.
If there is a relaxation of norms, then I will prepone the flight earlier.
In emergency, everyone is concern and booked the flight at a high cost and also ready with the Boarding Pass as per protocol to fly from Pune. The person leaving the home is also aware of the pandemic situation and forced to leave the house. At the last hour you are again stuck up and no solutions. As some one is right if trains can run with thousands of passengers from Mumbai and Pune, why not flight.
Hopeless ..once things decided flight tickets booked as per center policy..boarding pass issued any objections are not appreciated…airlines are taking full measures..train passengers are travelling.. corers of migrated workers shifted to there natives..but here almost full proof systems working …but still taking objections that too after 4 days is unwarranted…can not be appropriated..
Thousands came in by Shramik special trains.A few thousands gathered at Bandra on more than one occasion & very soon a few thousand will travel by Mumbai local trains.So why the fuss over a few hundreds traveling by flights into Mumbai ?
These are only political staements. ..Every thing is ready. Bording pass and .issued but home minister not give the permission. What is this. ? It’s create a horrible situation in state.
Prime minister modi jee should take a concern and allow the flight.
I wonder when trains bring thousands into Mumbai, why this confusion about hundreds coming by flights with more strict safe guards than trains.
Now that tickets are booked, what next is cancellation again. Why don’t you people behave in matured way. Maharastra government, You people are making us suffer like anything.
Why can’t these guys get on a conference call and sort these things out? Like how difficult is that?