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New Delhi: As the Center prepares to restart train services from Tuesday, government sources told CNN-News18 that flight operations will also gradually resume from May 17.
According to sources, the Civil Aviation Security Office and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation visited airports on Monday to supervise the final preparations for commercial flights.
In the first stage, 25 percent of the sectors will be covered, said a source, adding that a proposal has also been submitted not to provide catering services for flights where the distance is less than two hours.
Additionally, flyers may be required to download the government’s Aarogya Setu app, developed to track Covid-19 patients. However, the same app is said to be voluntary for train passengers, considering general and second-class travelers who may not have smartphones.
The DGCA announced on March 19 that there will be no international commercial passenger flight operations in India from 1.30 am on March 23, while domestic flight operations ceased on March 24.
The decision to resume flight operation comes a day after Indian Railways said it will gradually restart passenger train operations starting May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains.
These trains will run as special trains from the New Delhi station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Central Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
After the resumption of these 15 services, the railways will begin offering more special services on new routes, according to available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for Covid-19 service centers and reserving an adequate number of coaches to allow operation. up to 300 trains every day. “Shramik Special” for stranded migrants.
Ticket reservation counters at railway stations will remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) will be issued, he said.
Only passengers with confirmed valid tickets will be able to enter the railway stations. Passengers will be required to wear a face cover and undergo an exit check-out and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the trains.
