Kolkata airport welcomes passengers as flight services resume in Bengal after 2 months

On Thursday, 10 flights will take off from Kolkata and an equal number will arrive in Kolkata, news agency PTI reported.

AirAsia staff members stand on social distancing markings, as they wait to enter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, on Wednesday.(Reuters Photo)

Domestic flight operations to and from West Bengal resumed from Thursday after a gap of two months due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Kolkata airport tweeted that 122 passengers from Delhi arrived in the city after two months.

“Welcome Back Passengers! #KolkataAirport saw the arrival of 122 passengers from @DelhiAirport after two long months and 40 passengers departed to #Guwahati. Proper checks were followed and regular sanitization was carried out in terminal which was abuzz with passengers,” the (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International) NSCBI airport posted on Twitter.

Though domestic flight operations across the country began on May 25, it could not be restarted in Bengal as the state machinery was involved in the relief and restoration work after Cyclone Amphan devastated many areas of the state.

On Thursday, 10 flights will take off from Kolkata and an equal number will arrive in Kolkata, news agency PTI reported. Domestic flight operations will also resume at Bagdogra airport in north Bengal too.

Passengers flying to and from the state have been asked by the West Bengal government to mandatorily submit “filled up self-declaration form” at the time of arrival to the state health officials.

As per the revised guidelines issued by the state government for flyers, all passengers will have to undergo health screening at the point of departure and only “asymptomatic” passengers shall be allowed to board the plane.

On arrival, health screening shall be done for all the passengers.

The government further said in the guideline that all samples will be collected for coronavirus test from all symptomatic passengers.

Those with moderate or severe symptoms will be admitted to the dedicated Covid-19 health facility and managed accordingly. Those with mild symptoms will be asked to go for home or institutional isolation.

Adequate publicity for maintenance of social distancing norms and health hygiene protocol should be done at the airport.