(TAN): India-based airline IndiGo will resume flight operations from May 4, a day after the lockdown comes to an end, in a phased manner, reports said.
IndiGo will reportedly begin with fewer flights and subsequently increase its operating capacity in the coming months – the company expects just a quarter of its capacity or 65 planes to be utilised post the lockdown. The airline will also reopen select international, subject to international travel guidelines.
“Complementing the government’s efforts against COVID-19, we will restart flight operations on vital corridors of air traffic from May 04, 2020. We will begin operations for domestic only and then gradually ramp it up further, to commence operations on some international routes as well,” IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta was quoted by India Today as saying.
“Our singular focus will be on ensuring the health of our customers and our employees. We are working closely with the government and the airports to take our aircraft and our airports to a significantly higher level of cleanliness while ensuring social distancing. The airline industry has always done a tremendous job in ensuring the safety of its customers and I am confident we will rise to this latest challenge as well,” he added.
IndiGo’s Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjar Kumar reportedly said aircraft will be disinfected for 20 minutes after each landing.
“We will come out with a lot of measures, including revised boarding process. After every plane landing, we will require additional 20 minutes of time to disinfect the planes so that we will be able to bring the travellers’ confidence back. Post the lockdown, this is going to be the new normal,” Kumar was quoted by Business Today as saying.
For passengers who are impacted by flight cancellations until May 3, IndiGo will facilitate bookings for up to a year – the booking amount will be kept aside under the customer’s PNR number, which can then be used to make bookings for the same consumer for a year from the date of issuance.
India has suspended all domestic and international flights until the midnight of May 3 in a bid to stem the spread of the pandemic. The move came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the 21-day nationwide lockdown until May 3, reports said.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the government can reflect on lifting the restrictions on domestic and international flights after May 3.
“There were good reasons for the lockdown to be extended till 3rd May. We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic and international flights thereafter. I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel and request them to bear with us,” Puri tweeted.
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