Day 2: Airline operations smoother, but AI faces ire

Operations at India's airports were smoother on the second day after the chaos that marked the resumption of domestic flights on Monday.

New Delhi | Mumbai: Operations at India's airports were smoother on the second day after the chaos that marked the resumption of domestic flights on Monday. The number of flights increased, more people flew and additional destinations opened up. Airlines got better at managing travellers, although there were complaints about state-run carrier Air India. Flights were cancelled on Tuesday as well, leaving travellers stranded.

Carriers operated 325 departures and carried more than 41,500 passengers until 5 pm on Tuesday, the aviation ministry said. Domestic airlines operated 438 flights and carried 30,000 passengers until midnight on Monday, the first day of flight operations after two months, the government said. A senior airline executive said faster turnarounds facilitated the progressive addition in capacity on day two.

While departures at Delhi airport rose to 137 from 112 on Monday, Mumbai maintained its cap of 25 departures per day, said spokespersons at India’s two busiest airports. Vistara added eight flights to its 20 departures on Monday and IndiGo also added an unspecified number.

IndiGo and other carriers also deployed more staff to take care of passengers. Many had arrived at airports Monday without checking in online, mandatory under revised rules, or having downloaded the Aarogya Setu app or updated their information on it. Some airlines are insisting that passengers should have the contact-tracing app on their phones although the government has said it isn’t mandatory and a selfdeclaration will also suffice. “IndiGo, which deploys 670 people at Mumbai airport on normal days, deployed 20% of that on Monday and kept the rest on standby. Today, the airline increased it by 20 odd people,” said Charnel D’Souza, head of airports, western region, IndiGo. Airports in Andhra Pradesh saw operation resume on Tuesday. West Bengal is expected to allow the resumption of flights on Thursday.

Government officials are monitoring the increase in flights and said the number will rise over a period of time. “The envisaged schedule had to be compressed to suit all stakeholders. Later on account of load issues also flights were merged and curtailed. Things hereon are expected to improve. Time will tell,” said a senior government official. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said quarantine for air travellers flying between states was an obstacle to the smooth operation of flights. “We think we should avoid... We will advocate to states or governments to not put (travellers on) quarantine if they want air travel to restart,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA director general, said during a conference call with global media.

Air India customers complained about last-minute cancellations on Tuesday. “Inability of Air India to manage the current situation has added to the angst of passengers with Air India receiving highest complaints even with least number of domestic flights,” said Nishant Pitti, CEO of Easemytrip.com. “Over 70% of the complaints received today on EaseMyTrip.com’s customer care is regarding Air India alone.” He added that the national carrier doesn't have a policy of refunds, even if it cancels flights due to operational reasons. Pitti added that sales and back office teams of other carriers were seeking to ensure that proper support was provided to travellers round the clock. “Air India personnel are not even taking calls post 6 pm,” he said. Air India couldn’t be reached for comment.

A passenger who flew to Coimbatore from Chennai on Monday tested Covid positive after landing. All those landing in Coimbatore are tested. He was hospitalised and the other passengers, all negative, were confined to institutional quarantine for a day. Following that, they asked to quarantine themselves at home for two weeks. In a statement, IndiGo confirmed the incident and said the aircraft crew has been grounded for 14 days and it is notifying other passengers about the same.