Domestic air travel resumed on Monday after two months even as a number of states were unenthusiastic about opening up their airports in view of rising COVID-19 cases causing around 630 flights to be cancelled.
According to aviation industry sources, around 630 domestic flights of Monday were cancelled due to the Centre's Sunday night announcement that there would be no flights in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and limited operations at major airports such as Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Consequently, many passengers reached the airports on Monday only to be told by the airline staff that their flights have been cancelled. Many people took to social media to vent their anger.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday evening, "From no domestic passenger flights yesterday to 532 flights and 39,231 passengers today, action has returned to Indian skies. With Andhra Pradesh set to resume operations from tomorrow & West Bengal from 28 May, these numbers are all set to increase further."
SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said,"We are delighted to have resumed our flight operations in a completely sommth manner and by following every safety guideline and protocol laid down by the government."
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