NEW DELHI: In a hint that air travel, too, may be opened in a calibrated manner after May 17, the civil aviation ministry on Tuesday came out with draft standard operating procedure (SOP) for commercial flight operations.
As per the draft SOP, passengers will not be allowed to carry cabin baggage and will have to fill up a questionnaire seeking details on their past travel history and many other things.
Downloading Aarogya Setu app will also be required and flyers will have to reach airports at least two hours before the departure.
Keeping three rows of the plane vacant to meet with any medical emergency situation is also proposed in the draft. However, the document is silent on leaving the middle seat of the aircraft vacant for ensuring social distancing norms.
Green status on Aarogya Setu app, web check-in, and temperature checks for all domestic-, departing- and arriving passengers have also been proposed. The ministry has also mooted having the same set of cabin and cockpit crew as long as possible in order to prevent possible cross- contamination.
A questionnaire will be circulated to the passenger and will have to be filled up in advance about their past history related to Covid-19 and quarantine, if any. The ministry has suggested that passengers denied travel due to high temperature or age should be permitted to change their date of travel without penalty.
Airports should have an isolation zone in the terminal building as well as the airside for passengers showing symptoms . Airports would have to put in place distance markings, disinfecting all common areas such as lifts, escalators, chairs in seating areas, food and beverages and retail outlets. Availability of moveable hand wash cart or alcohol-based hand sanitisers within the terminal should be ensured.
The ministry has clarified the SOP is not final and is open for suggestions by stakeholders.
Vande Bharat: Focus on Europe in Phase 2
The second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back stranded Indians from abroad will begin on May 16. A total of 149 flights will bring back Indians from 31 countries during this phase of the mission which will go on till May 22. The second phase will focus on countries like France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belarus, Australia, Canada, Japan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Nepal and Nigeria, among others. While 22 flights will arrive in Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Gujarat will see 17, 16 and 14 incoming flights, respectively. Air India and its subsidiaries have operated 31 flights which have so far brought back around 6,000 Indians from various countries in the first five days of the first phase.