Domestic flights resumed today, 25th May, in the country after a long gap of 2 months amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Passengers arrive at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport as domestic flight operations resume.
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2020
Maharashtra government has allowed 25 takeoffs and 25 landings every day from Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/ss38dwa8bz
It has been reported that there was confusion and chaos at the airports as many flights got cancelled and flyers didn’t get any notifications from the airlines.
One of the woman at the Mumbai airport, waiting for her flight to Delhi, told NDTV:
We were going to Delhi. We were told when we arrived here that the flight has been cancelled. One of the customer care employees told us that there is a flight that runs tonight and that may be, we have been rescheduled. But nothing is confirmed yet.
The new normal at airports: @akshaydongre4 reports from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport on Day 1. #domesticflights #COVID19Pandemic #lockdown2020 pic.twitter.com/TavIoP1PSw
— NDTV (@ndtv) May 25, 2020
Earlier, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, laid down detailed travel guidelines to ensure safety and protection of passengers and airline staff.
The guidelines included wearing of face masks, no physical check-ins, thermal screening of passengers and maintaining social distancing at all costs.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5ecb59bd60c060497d5d1cb2_a10fbd41-a767-41ab-a95d-47b5e3680dd2.jpg)
A woman who landed at the Pune airport from Delhi, earlier this morning, told ANI:
I was nervous before the flight but all passengers were taking precautions. Very few people are travelling right now.
Karnataka: Thermal screening of passengers being done before their entry into airport terminal building at Kempegowda International airport as domestic flight operations resume today pic.twitter.com/5qUV2B9g8B
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2020
According to a report by NDTV, as many as 82 flights to and from Delhi were cancelled in the initial hours of the first day itself.
Similar scenes were reported from Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru where disappointed passengers were seen waiting outside the airports.
Hyderabad: IndiGo’s flight to Guwahati and Air India’s flight to Bengaluru have been cancelled.
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) May 25, 2020
Passengers say, “Airlines should not cancel flights at this time. It is really important for us to get to our destinations”.
(Photos: ANI) #DomesticFlights #COVID19Pandemic pic.twitter.com/nHOV2VDCVb
Passengers were screened at the airports using a thermal scanner and they were seen wearing face masks and shields.
While one-third of the domestic flights operational before the lockdown have been resumed from today, all international flights continue to remain supended.