After a two-month-long hiatus due to the ongoing lockdown, a Vistara flight from Delhi has landed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport as India resumes domestic flight operations from today. All passengers were screened before boarding the flight and some were seen wearing face shields while disembarking – as a precautionary measure.
“I was in Delhi since the Parliament’s Budget session. Now, I am returning to my state Odisha,” said BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty, who was also a passenger in the plane.
Deepak, another passenger speaking to ANI said, “I had been waiting for flights to resume for the last 15 days and now I have come back. The decision to resume domestic flights is good.”
Domestic flight operations have resumed across the country from today except in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Government has made 14-day quarantine mandatory for all returnees. In rural areas, seven-day institutional and seven-day home quarantine has been ordered whereas, in urban areas, a 14-day home quarantine is compulsory.
However, an exemption is allowed to government officials, professionals, businessmen travelling to Odisha on work, and intending to exit within 72 hours. Similarly, any passenger exiting Odisha for work and returning to the state within 72 hours of departure is also exempt from undergoing quarantine.