Government prepares for phased resumption of flights: boarding pass sealing suspended

Government agencies have begun to lay the groundwork in terms of the security and policy measures required to begin flight operations. (File photo)

The central government has begun work to prepare for the resumption of commercial domestic flights, something that may happen in stages over the next month, senior government and industry officials said. To this end, government agencies have begun to lay the groundwork in terms of the security measures and policies required to begin flight operations.

The Civil Aviation Security Office issued a circular Wednesday eliminating security personnel who stamped boarding passes for passengers on flights at airports. “In view of the prevailing pandemic situation and the COVID-19 countermeasures being taken to contain its spread by contact / contact, it has been decided to dispense with the procedure of stamping the passenger boarding pass … after completing security control prior to boarding of the passenger in question, until further orders, “said the circular.

In addition, the government has also distributed a set of draft standard operating procedures with various stakeholders, including airlines, airports, and groundhandling companies seeking their views on measures to ensure social distancing and health security for passengers and staff. These include downloading the Aarogya Setu application, increasing passenger notification times at airports, mandatory web check-in, among other similar procedures.

“… Suggestions were sought in a draft discussion document for airlines and airports. Suggestions have already been received. The final SOP has not yet been issued, “said a government spokesman for the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

A senior official said that while the civil aviation ministry awaited approval from the Interior Ministry before allowing airlines to take reservations for scheduled commercial flights, the Center was also in talks with several state governments, considering that it was important for states to be on board. with the plan

“Initially, flight approval may be given for some of the green zone districts, but most major traffic centers are still in red or orange zones, and for that it is essential that we have state governments on board,” said the official.

The official also alluded to the possibility that initially only Air India would be allowed to start domestic repatriation flights on the lines of the international Vande Bharat mission. In the second phase of this mission, Air India will fly around 30,000 passengers from 31 countries. Some of the flights under this mission also connect airports within the country such as Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Kochi, etc. However, these flights are only for passengers arriving from international stations and no reservations have been opened for domestic passengers. .

An executive at a low-cost airline said that although carriers have been conducting operations for cargo flights on passenger planes, the size of the operation has been reduced to unprecedented levels and carriers may need some time to prepare for commercial passenger operations. . “The government told us that we could have 10 days to take reservations and prepare technically, and we hope to have some clarity once the guidelines for Lockdown 4.0 are released,” the executive said, on condition of anonymity.

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