Domestic flights resume in Patna after 2 months

PATNA: Domestic flight operations resumed after two months at Patna airport here on Monday with 11 flights connecting various cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, among others.
Airport director Bhupesh CH Negi told this newspaper on Monday that the first flight landed here at 7:40am. “Around 11 flights operated to and from Patna airport on Monday.As GoAir will resume services from June 1, the number of flights at the airport is comparatively less as of now,” Negi said.
He added, “The standard operating protocols regarding prevention of spread of Covid-19 virus were implemented. Thermal screening of arriving passengers was done by state health department personnel. Departing passengers were screened by the airport authorities.”
Airlines executives claimed they received good response on the first day of resumption of domestic flights. “Even though only one flight of Air India arrived at the Patna airport on Monday, we are happy with the response,” said an Air India executive.
“It feels good to see the aviation sector functioning again. Besides, people in huge numbers are booking tickets,” said an Indigo executive. Manmohan Tiwari, a senior GoAir official at Patna airport, said, “The airline is ready to begin operations from June 1. We are just ensuring that every passenger receives a safe experience.”
Flyers returning to the city were elated to meet their family members after months after landing here on Monday. Seema Kumari, who was stuck at her Delhi hostel for the past two months due to the lockdown, broke down when she met her father at the city airport.
“I didn’t even get the ticket for the special Shramik trains. I booked my flight ticket as soon as I got to know about the resumption of airline services,” she said, adding, she felt safe on board as proper social distancing was maintained at both the airports.
Others, however, claimed they faced some hassles due to the delay in flight timing. Boring Road resident Shubhashish Kumar, who was stranded in Delhi, said he had to face several problems at the Delhi airport. “The system is quite new for all of us, including the crew members and ground staff of the airlines, due to which my flight got delayed by an hour,” he said.
Sanjeev Kumar Ojha, who along with his wife was leaving for Pune, said he came to his hometown Patna in March during Holi but got stuck following the lockdown. “I work in Pune so cannot stay here any longer,” he said.
A 61-year-old passenger with kidney problems said she couldn’t go to Delhi for her check-up for the last two months. “I am happy that I will be able to seek my doctor’s help as I have got several complications,” she said.
146 people arrive at Gaya from Doha: Gaya International Airport director Dilip Kumar told this newspaper that altogether 126 people- 122 natives of Bihar and four of Jharkhand- arrived at Gaya airport by a special flight of Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission on Monday. “The natives of Bihar were sent to 14-day quarantine in private hotels. A few monasteries in Bodh Gaya have also come forward to allow quarantine in their premises,” he said.
More special flights are scheduled to arrive from Kazakhstan, Yangon, Dhaka and Moscow among other at least till June 6, he added.