Watch: Scenes from airports across India on Day 1 of resumption of domestic flights

The resumption of air travel came with a few hiccups in the first few hours itself as several flyers took to social media to register their grievances against airlines, particularly Air India. Several people travelled long distances only to find that their flights had been cancelled.

Confusion and chaos prevailed on Monday as domestic passenger flight operations resumed after a hiatus of two months amid reluctance by various states to open up their airports in view of rising cases of novel coronavirus. Passengers were greeted with long queues and a large number of flights were cancelled on Monday across the country.

The resumption of air travel came with a few hiccups in the first few hours itself as several flyers took to social media to register their grievances against airlines, particularly Air India. Several people travelled long distances only to find that their flights had been cancelled. Of the approximately 380 flights that were scheduled for today in the national capital, 82 (both departures and arrivals) were already cancelled by afternoon. And more than 20 flights were also called off in Bengaluru.

Besides cancellations, there was confusion over quarantine procedures too. Most of the state governments decided to put the passengers arriving from other states in an institutional quarantine of seven to 14 days. Others made home quarantine for a fortnight mandatory for the travellers. Despite being vocal against the resumption of domestic flights, Maharashtra — which is worst hit by Covid-19 — allowed Mumbai airport to handle 50 domestic flights per day.

At the airport, thermal screening, social distancing measures were put in place. The Delhi airport saw its first departure at 4.45 am to Pune while Mumbai airport’s first departure was at 6.45 am to Patna, the officials said.

A collection of videos from airports across India on Day 1 of resumption of flight services