Long queues, chaos, confusion as domestic flights resume

• Chaos, confusion and long queues greeted passengers as flights resumed after a two-month air travel ban to stem the spread of the coronavirus
• Some airlines cancelled flights at the last minute, highlighting the lack of preparation

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI : For the first time in his life, Wasim Khan was not with his family in Dhanbad for Eid. He was to leave Delhi on Monday via Air India’s 7am flight to Ranchi, but at 3am, a masked man at the airport main gate told him flight AI 0417 had been cancelled.

“No texts. No emails. No explanation. Some people had come from Meerut for this flight," said Khan, angry and tired. “This is utter madness."

Chaos, confusion and long queues greeted passengers as flights resumed after a two-month air travel ban to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Still, thousands of passengers flew on Monday to check on elderly parents, go home from a city they had been stranded in, or to deal with family emergencies.

Many like Khan were, however, let down as airlines cancelled flights at the last minute, highlighting the lack of preparation.

In a surprise announcement on 20 May, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said domestic flights would restart, giving airlines and airports about four days to come up with a comprehensive plan to ensure smooth and safe flights. Since then, states have issued their own directives that often contradict the Centre’s plan — Andhra and West Bengal have extended flight bans, while Assam and Karnataka require arriving passengers to undergo a two-week quarantine.

Mumbai-based Rohan Talukdar, his mother and younger brother were prepared for a 14-day isolation in a Guwahati hotel near their home. But 30 minutes before leaving home at midnight for their 5am Indigo flight on 25 May, Talukdar received a text that their flight had been cancelled. “My granddad died a week ago. We are supposed to be home during this mourning period, but again, we are stuck." He booked another flight for 26 May which was 18 hours long with stopovers. At 5pm, he received a text saying that too had been cancelled. “That’s over ₹30,000 blocked with IndiGo. I have no idea if I will get it back," said Talukdar.

For Anita Devi, 60, the journey from Guwahati to Delhi came as a relief as she needs to help with her daughter’s delivery next week. She was to have travelled earlier, but the lockdown upended her plans. “I was very worried I would miss the birth of my grandchild," she said. Her flight had fewer than 25 passengers on board. After landing in Delhi, Devi checked into a hotel where she will stay for a week. “I can’t go directly to my daughter’s home as her condition is delicate," she said.

Vibhore Kumar was dreading his Indigo 5.50pm flight experience to Ranchi even before he sat in an Uber to reach the Delhi airport. He followed the new travel protocol. Gloves, check. Sanitizers, check. Mask, check. Aarogya Setu app, check. Flight details pasted on the luggage, check. “My mother has been alone at home for so long. I was very worried and wanted to be on the first flight out to see her," he said. His flight was on time. “The check-in was smooth, probably because there are very few people. The airport seems strange—it’s mostly empty, only the food shops are open, and people are in masks and gloves," Kumar said over phone from Ranchi airport after touching down.

Sharan Poovanna in Bengaluru contributed to the story.

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