The Union Government on Monday ordered suspension of all domestic flight services beginning Tuesday midnight in a bid to move towards a complete lockdown prompted by the fast-spreading, deadly Covid-19 that has killed at least seven and infected 415 people in India.
“Operations will cease with effect from midnight that is 23.59 hours IST on 24/3/2020. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 23.59 hours on 24/3/2020,” the civil aviation ministry said adding that the restrictions will not apply to cargo carrying flights.
The ban on domestic flights, so far, is for an “indefinite period”, a civil aviation ministry spokesperson said.
This comes a day after India began a virtual lockdown for the rest of the month across states by suspending trains, interstate buses and Metro rail services till March 31, a decision that on Sunday followed millions of Indians heeding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a day-long voluntary shutdown to break the chain of coronavirus infections.
So far, a complete lockdown has been announced in 82 districts across 19 states and union territories.
To be sure, India has already suspended all international flights from landing in India for one week, from March 22 till March 29.
No scheduled international commercial airliner to be allowed to land in India from March 22 till one week in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak, the union government had announced Thursday.
West Bengal chief minister on Monday also wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to immediately suspend all domestic flights. The Bengal chief minister has said the government has stopped all inter-state movement and shut roads while Railway operations have also stopped. “But allowing flights to still land in the state remains a threat to the prevention of coronavirus spread. We are seriously concerned that the Government of India is still allowing operation of flights causing a huge breach of shutdown and quarantine protocol with no arrangements of social distancing that we are so painfully managing in the state,” she wrote in the letter.
Airlines over the past two weeks have been cutting down on flight operations due to low passenger load. GoAir on Saturday announced the suspension of all flights on Sunday in the wake of ‘Janta Curfew.’ Indigo had also announced that the airline will be operating approximately 60% of its normal domestic schedule.