BHUBANESWAR: The first domestic flight from Delhi arrived at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here at 8.49 am on Monday after a gap of two months as operations were suspended due to the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The passengers, who boarded a Vistara airlines flight from Delhi to arrive here, could be seen wearing visors, masks and gloves to protect themselves from the virus.
A couple stuck in Delhi and hailing from Baripada were among the passengers to arrive in the first flight landing here.
"We were stuck in Delhi after the lockdown. My father was not well for which we decided to return by road but then the government announced resumption of domestic flight services and we immediately booked the tickets," said the woman. She said she was nervous before boarding the flight but was satisfied after seeing the arrangements and the awareness among her co-passengers.
However, some of the passengers raised concerns over the lack of adequate social distancing. A Bhubaneswar resident arriving from New Delhi said though social distancing was maintained inside the airports, it was not satisfactory on board the flight.
Sources said there were 89 passengers and six crew members on board the flight. Ollywood actor Anubhav Mohanty was also among the passengers of the first flight to land at BPIA.
Thermal screening of the passengers was conducted before boarding and deboarding the flight, they added.
Meanwhile, BPIA Director VV Rao said four more flights are scheduled to arrive and depart in the evening.
Sources said flight operations between BPIA and cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai will likely not commence on Monday.
An Air India flight will arrive here from Delhi at 6.30 pm and return at 7.10 pm. Similarly, an AirAsia flight will arrive from Bengaluru at 7.35 pm and depart from BPIA at 8.10 pm, while an IndiGo flight will arrive from Bengaluru at 8.35 pm and return at 9.10 pm and the same carrier's flight will arrive here from Delhi at 10.30 pm and commence its return journey towards the national capital at 11 pm.