BHUBANESWAR: With domestic flights set to resume after a gap of more than two months, about 20 planes are scheduled to arrive and depart from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here on Monday. However, the number may vary significantly as many states are yet to give a go-ahead to flight operations, airlines sources said.
As per BPIA schedule, an IndiGo flight from Hyderabad will be the first to arrive here at 8.10 am. It will take-off for Hyderabad at 8.40 am. A Vistara flight will arrive from New Delhi at 9.05 am and return at 9.40 am. An IndiGo flight from Kolkata will land at 4.30 pm and return at 5 pm. Another flight from Chennai is expected to arrive at 5.30 pm and return at 6 pm while one from Mumbai is also set to arrive at 9.35 pm and return at 10.05 pm.
“We are, however, uncertain whether flights between Bhubaneswar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will commence from Monday,” an official of IndiGo said. AirAsia will also resume its operations with arrival of a flight from Bengaluru at 7.35 pm and return at 8.10 pm.
The BPIA officials said they are ready for flights. “An inspection and trial run was conducted on Sunday evening. All mandatory precautions like social distancing markings, transparent glasses for document checking, sanitisers and wash basins are ready at the airport,” said BPIA Director VV Rao. All passengers will have to to install Aarogya Setu app or fill self declaration forms to confirm about their health status.