New Delhi: India will try to restart a good percentage of international passenger flights before August, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said.
“I can’t put a date on it (restarting international flights). But if somebody says can it be done by August or September? My response is why not earlier depending on what is the situation,” he said.
When asked about the minister’s announcement on resuming international services, Vistara said it will await instructions and guidelines from the Civil Aviation Ministry. Other airlines did not respond to PTI when asked about this matter.
“I am fully hopeful that before August or September, we will try to start a good percentage of international civil aviation operations, if not complete international operations,” he said.
“We must have a more ambitious goal (regarding international flights). Why not start them by mid-June or June-end or in July,” he added.
The Minister said that the Vande Bharat Mission, which began on 7 May, would be able to bring a total 50,000 Indians, who have been stranded abroad, home by the end of this month.
Puri said India is planning to bring stranded Indians from Sri Lanka through ships or flights under the Vande Bharat Mission. The minister said if some passengers do not have smartphones, it is not as if they will not be allowed to travel for they do not have the Aarogya Setu app.
“We have said it is an advisory, it is preferable. If you do not have the Aarogya Setu app, you can give a self-declaration form,” he stated. “If someone has Aarogya Setu app, it is like a passport. If you have green status, why should anybody want any quarantine,” Puri said.
The app gives colour-coded designation to users as per their health status and travel history. It helps the user know if he or she is near anyone who has tested positive for the deadly virus.
Incase a passenger does not have the app, he or she can get tested for the virus two or three days before the flight’s departure, get a medical certificate, and just fill in the form that he or she is COVID-19 negative, Puri noted.
“If you haveA arogya Setu app, and if you have got yourself tested for COVID-19 and have been found negative, and if you do not show any symptoms, then I think there is no need for quarantine,” he said.