Mumbai Airport authorities have announced that Air India, Air Asia India, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Vistara will resume services from May 25. GoAir, which entirely operates from Terminal I, has opened bookings only from June 1.
It is also announced that only Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai will be opened up for passengers.
It is pointed out that since airlines will be operating just one-third capacity of their aircraft, this measure would help all stakeholders — airline staff, airport employees and passengers — to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) easily.
An official of the Mumbai International Airport Limited stated that all airlines will begin operating from Terminal 2. Thermal screening of passengers at all entry gates will be mandatory before they enter the terminal.
CSMIA plans to maintain physical distancing through clear markings ensuring a minimum 1.5 m distance between each passenger. Markings have been made across Terminal 2, and will be made in Terminal 1 too.
Airport staff will be deployed at the entry gate, check-in counters, self-check-in kiosks, security checkpoints, food courts, lounge area and the boarding area. Officials said seating arrangements at the food court and terminal building have been reshuffled to ensure physical distancing.
As per the SOP issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, no food will be served on board and consuming eatables on board will also be prohibited since it would require taking off the masks. Water bottles will be placed in the aircraft galley. Mumbai airport will offer food and beverage options to passengers, which will also be available as takeaways.
Temporary quarantine centres have been created at the departure visitors’ lounges. On Friday, the airport continued to be sanitised and disinfected. Passengers will be advised to use fewer baggage trolleys, which will be sanitised every four hours.
16 flights to Delhi
On Monday, the maximum number of flights from Mumbai will operate to Delhi (16), followed by Bengaluru (11), Chennai (8) and Kolkata (7). Four flights will go to Cochin and one each to Ahmedabad and Goa.
Within Maharashtra, two flights will be operated to Nagpur from Mumbai and Delhi each, despite the mayor saying no to flights.
Air India subsidiary Alliance Air said it will also be operating flights to Bhuj, Bhavnagar and Diu from Mumbai. On the regional connectivity routes, Alliance Air will connect Pune to Belagavi, and Kolhapur to Bengaluru.
Terminal 1, which is the other Terminal at Mumbai Airport, will be opened up only after flights resume normally.