26 May,2020 06:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Gaurav Sarkar
Early on Monday, Mumbai airport resumed limited flight operations to various parts of the country
Early on Monday, airport services resumed at T2 with limited flight operations. However, as expected, confusion and cancellations reigned supreme. Passengers could be seen fuming outside the airport after being told about flights being cancelled at the last minute. In a happy development, however, the train travelling to Manipur from Mumbai finally reached its destination on Monday.
A late night tug-of-war between the Centre and state government on whether to resume domestic flight operations from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport resulted in a mutual decision to operate 25 departures and 25 arrivals on a daily basis. Early on Monday, airport services resumed at T2 with limited flight operations even as the nation continued to be under the fourth phase of lockdown.
The flight left Mumbai airport for Patna at 6.45 am whereas one from Lucknow was the first arrival at 8.20 am. Both the flights were operated by IndiGo airlines.
Passengers wait at the entrance of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 on Monday. Pic/Satej Shinde
As per information, the GVK MIAL managing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) operated a total of 47 flights, through which seven airlines catered to 14 sectors. The flights ferried a total of 4,852 passengers, which include 3,752 at departure and 1,100 at arrival.
Flights between Mumbai and Delhi were the most frequent on day one, with six departures and six arrivals, followed by Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Patna and Varanasi, with two departures and two arrivals each. While IndiGo operated the maximum number of flights with 11 departures and 10 arrivals, SpiceJet followed with five departures and five arrivals.
According to a Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson, limited operations of 25 departures and 25 arrivals would continue on a daily basis.
Kumar Sheetanshu, 23, a software engineer working in Mumbai, had booked a seat aboard the 18:35 pm Indigo flight from Mumbai to Delhi on Monday. Speaking to mid-day, he said, "I have been waiting to go back home for the past 70 days. I first booked a SpiceJet flight, but it got cancelled at 10 pm yesterday, after which I booked an Indigo flight."
On Sunday evening, a fair bit of back and forth happened between the central and state governments, with the latter expressing that it needed more time to resume flight operations in a safe and secure manner. However, a late night mutual agreement to operate limited number of flights sent the Mumbai airport authorities into a tizzy since they and the airlines had to rework their flight schedules. "It was not just Mumbai, but even Hyderabad, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam had to go back to the drawing table. The final schedule arrived at 1.30 am," said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson further said, "Even during this unprecedented time, CSMIA continues to remain operational with limited number of staff working for vital cargo operations and repatriation flights, at the same time following safety precautions at the airport. In a bid to enhance passenger safety, the airport has been working tirelessly to sanitise and fumigate the terminal buildings, thus preventing any potential spread of the virus and assuring the well-being of passengers when operations resume."
After announcing the resumption of flights on Sunday, the Mumbai airport had also urged the passengers above 14 years of age to mandatorily download the Aarogya Setu app to establish safe travel and as part of the standard operating procedure put in place before the recommencement of operations. The CSMIA had also advised passengers above 80 years as well as expectant mothers and passengers with health issues to not travel.
With agency inputs
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