Regular Domestic Flight Operations To Resume By January, Says Minister

New Delhi: Regular flight operations in the country, like in pre-COVID times, should resume by the end of December 2020 or January 2021. That’s the view of Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

All domestic and international passenger flights were suspended from March 23 due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Flight operations resumed on May 25, with about 3,000 passengers being ferried daily on an emergency basis.

Services were gradually ramped up and is currently operating at a 70 per cent capacity, said Puri. During Diwali, domestic airlines served 2.25 lakh passengers.

“Domestic operations recommenced with 30K passengers on 25 May & have reached 2.06 lakhs on 8 November,” Puri tweeted.

Puri said once civil aviation functions are completely operational, existing safety protocols may not have to be further bolstered. “It requires professional people to set up those protocols as well as self-discipline,” Puri was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.