Hardeep Singh Puri also
said he did not understand the need to quarantine domestic air passenger who
show "green" status on the Aarogya Setu contact-tracing app.
Coronavirus
Lockdown, Domestic Flights: Hardeep Singh Puri spoke on quarantine for air
travel (File)
New
Delhi: International flight
operations may start by mid-June or end-July if the COVID-19 virus
"behaves in a predictable manner", Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep
Singh Puri said Saturday afternoon, during an online discussion with the
public to clarify norms governing "calibrated" restart of
domestic flights from Monday.
Mr Puri said the government
was working towards restarting a "good percentage" of passenger
flights that have been grounded since the start of the lockdown to break
the coronavirus chain of transmission.
"Why wait till August
or September? If situation eases or improves, if virus behaves in predictable
manner and we get used to co-exist(ing) with it, we're in position to make
arrangements. Why not start by June middle or end July?" Mr Puri said today.
During his interaction the
minister also said he did not understand the need to quarantine domestic fliers
who show "green" status on the Aarogya Setu app. "If someone has
Aarogya Setu app, it is like a passport. If you have green status, why should anybody
want any quarantine?" he asked.
Mr Puri made a similar
point during a press briefing on Thursday, during which he revealed details
of revised flight ops, including air fares.
The comment was followed by
as many as six states, including Kerala, Karnataka and Assam,
insisting that people arriving via domestic flights will be quarantined.
This morning Karnataka said
incoming passengers from six states with the most infections will have to
undergo seven-day institutional quarantine and seven days of home
isolation. Exemptions will be made for the elderly, the terminally-ill,
children and pregnant women.
On Friday, Tamil Nadu
urged the centre to rethink the reopening of air travel, citing a surge in
coronavirus cases in state capital Chennai and non-functioning public
transport, which will trouble passengers commuting between the airport and the
city - a distance of around 10 kilometres.
Chennai
airport has been closed for passenger traffic, as have all others in the
country, since the COVID-19 lockdown began (File)
The debate over quarantine
being mandatory for air passengers was kicked off by Mr Puri on Thursday, when
said an unnecessary "fuss" was being made over quarantine of
domestic air travellers.
He
pointed out that as per revised SOPs governing air travel during the
lockdown, those showing "red" on the Aarogya Setu app, which he
promoted as an "excellent contact-tracing device", would not even be
allowed to enter the airport, let alone board a plane.
"I
don't know why we are making such a fuss on the quarantine issue. Bhai, this is domestic
travel. Same laws will apply here that applies when you travel by train or a
bus... People who are positive will not be allowed to board the flights,"
he said.
Passenger
flight operations were stopped in March after a nationwide lockdown was ordered
to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus; cargo flights, those for medical
evacuation and special flights to repatriate Indians stranded abroad
were allowed to operate.
On
Wednesday Mr Puri said domestic passenger flights would be re-started
in a "calibrated" manner.
The
resumption comes as the country experiences a worrying surge in fresh COVID-19
cases - nearly 25,000 have been recorded over the past four days, with
6,654 reported over the past 24 hours, according to government data this
morning.
The
total number of cases in India has crossed 1.25 lakh, with 3,720 deaths
reported.
The
Railways has already moved to gradually restart services; it has been running
trains for migrants since May 1, as well as 15 special passenger trains
starting from New Delhi.
Starting
June 1, 200 regular passenger trains will also begin operating.
Passengers will also have to show "green" on the Aarogya Setu app before
travelling, and will have to spend 14 days in isolation on arrival.
With
input from ANI, PTI
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