Int’l flights resume from city airport after 4-mth hiatus

LIMITED OPS

Int’l flights resume from city airport after 4-mth hiatus

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.08.2020

After a gap of four months, international flights have resumed in a small way from Chennai airport with airlines slotting services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The state government has also waived seven days institutional quarantine for those who arrive with Covid-19 negative certificate.

Indigo and GoAir have released schedules from Chennai and SpiceJet from Madurai for flights to the UAE till the end of the month.

This will make it easier for people to reach UAE as getting seat in Vande Bharat flights being operated by Air India was not easy. The move comes after the ministry of civil aviation approved flights between airports under the ‘air bubble’ scheme.

The number of flights will be limited, as it's not daily service, because the state government continues to be concerned about the spread of Covid-19.

Nevertheless, the state government has relaxed institutional quarantine rules for international travellers.

As per the new rule, passengers who arrive from abroad with an Covid-19 test certificate will have to undergo another test here and can go on home quarantine if the result is negative. This means those who do not have Covid-19 infection may have to be in a hotel or a government facility for one or two days only.

There will be around seven flights by Indian carriers till August 30. UAE-based airlines too will be adding flights. With IPL to be held in Dubai, flight schedules for next month are expected to be released soon.

Sriharan Balan from Madura Travels said, “This is a good beginning. UAE has also started issuing tourist visas to Indians. A passenger flew the day before on a tourist visa to Dubai. He will be staying for a month with his friends.”

However, it would take longer for leisure travellers to visit UAE because they continue to insist on quarantine. “With IPL going to be held in UAE next month, this rule too may be relaxed and airlines are likely to schedule more flights,” he added Lufthansa too have scheduled flights to Bengaluru. However, only those who wish to fly to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah can travel and people who want to fly beyond UAE cannot board these flights.

Basheer Ahmed of Metro Travels said, “The flights to the UAE will be of help to people who were struggling to get tickets on Vande Bharat flights. However, they should allow passengers who prefer to travel beyond Dubai or Abu Dhabi. This will offer more choice for people who want to fly to Europe from Chennai."