COVID-19 lockdown: Domestic flights resume after two months

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Domestic passenger flights resumed in India after a gap of two months and the country will see around 600 services on Monday, officials said.

The Delhi airport saw its first departure at 4.45 am to Pune while Mumbai airport’s first departure was at 6.45 am to Patna, the officials said.

Scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended on March 25, when the Centre imposed a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

It was announced last Thursday that one-third of pre-lockdown domestic flights will operate from Monday. International scheduled commercial passenger flights remain suspended.

The first passenger flight from Delhi airport IndiGo 6E643 departed for Pune, while the first domestic passenger flight to arrive at Delhi on Monday was from Ahmedabad and it was of SpiceJet, the officials said.

The Mumbai airport’s operator MIAL said in a statement: “The first flight departing out of CSMIA (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport ) will be to Patna at 6:45hrs and flight arriving from Lucknow will be the first arrival flight at 8:20hrs both operated by IndiGo.