Coronavirus scare sees ‘Ghost flights’ taking to the skies from Chennai airport

Chennai airport officials say international arrivals have dropped by 22-26%; some airlines operating flights with no passengers to hold on to take-off and landing slots

Passengers wearing masks at the Chennai airport on Monday. (Photo | Martin Louis, EPS)

CHENNAI: The otherwise busy international terminal at Chennai airport is devoid of the usual hustle and bustle after the COVID-19 grounded many flights. According to airport officials, the international arrivals have dropped by 22-26 per cent due to cancellation. Meanwhile, the domestic terminal is witnessing a 3 to 4 per cent slump in the numbers. 

Officials told The New Indian Express, “Now, you have travel restrictions from Kuwait. Even flights to Qatar have come down. Singapore Airlines has already cancelled couple of flights. On Sunday, even the Japan Airlines flight did not arrive and Cathay Pacific has also cancelled some services.”

As many flyers choose not to travel due to the virus scare, some airlines are operating ‘ghost’ flights- with no passengers - in order to hang on to take-off and landing slots. “We have been witnessing this phenomenon for some days now. Many flights having a capacity of 290 will have just 40 passengers. This is forcing many airlines to cut down on frequencies,” the airport official said. The official also said departures have also come down by 10 to 12 per cent. Sources in the airline industry said that to stimulate the domestic sector, many airlines could cut fares to remain afloat but it needs to be seen whether domestic passengers prefer to stay grounded or take the risk and travel on cheaper fares.

Big drop

• The International Air Transport Association (IATA) fears 19 per cent loss in worldwide passenger revenue, equating to $113 billion, this year
• After visa restrictions put forth by Kuwait, seven flights from Chennai to Kuwait have been cancelled. These include Indigo flight 6E-1751 (Chennai to Kuwait), 6E1752 (Kuwait to Chennai); Kuwait Airlines flight KU 344 (Chennai to Kuwait), Ku-343 (Kuwait to Chennai); Air India flight AI-981 (Chennai to Kuwait via Ahmedabad), AI 982 (Kuwait to Chennai via Ahmedabad) and AI 976 (Kuwait to Chennai via Goa) and Cathay Pacific flights from Chennai to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Chennai

MTC awaiting orders to sterilise buses
Chennai: A day after health department instructed the MTC to sterilise buses, nothing has been done so far. When Express queried MTC officials, they said they are waiting for a written communication in this regard. “Once we receive the communication, we will coordinate with health department and start the work,” said a senior official. With about 35 lakh people commuting daily in the city, the passengers urged MTC to begin work soon.

An RPF personnel wearing a mask at Chennai Central on Monday | Rishi Devarajan

“Bus stops and buses must be the priority areas to incorporate prevention measures. However, there is still no hand sanitisers in bus stops and buses are seldom cleaned,” rued P Venkat, a commuter. Concurring, VS Jayaraman, of T Nagar said that the staff too must be sensitised. “The conductors often wet their fingers with saliva to facilitate removal and issue of ticket. This has to be stopped and conductors be provided with wet sponges, like in Mumbai.” According to several conductors, only 10-15 electronic ticketing machines work in each depot. and they have no option but to use manual tickets.