TN GOVT ISSUES STRICT GUIDELINES AS FLIGHTS RESUME SERVICES! - DETAILS

Tamil Nadu government announced on Sunday that incoming domestic flights to Chennai will be restricted to 25 per day. However, there are no limitation on operations of flights to Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli. The state has also passed strict guidelines to be followed by passengers.

Due to the high number of COVID19 cases in Gujarat and Maharashtra, the number of flights from those states will be kept at the barest minimum level. Nevertheless, no restrictions have been imposed on number of flights operating from Tamil Nadu. 

According to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), incoming and outgoing passengers will have to follow the given norms and asymptomatic people will be under home quarantine for 14 days. 

If symptomatic cases are found, they will be isolated and taken to the nearest health facility and tested for COVID19. 

Those who test positive for the virus, will be admitted to a hospital or health care centre. People who have mild symptoms would be allowed to opt for home isolation. Those who test negative will remain under home quarantine, according to the guidelines. 

If passengers undertake air journey without meeting the eligibility criteria, they would be liable for penal action. The government order also mentioned that passengers who do not have a residence in the state could opt for paid quarantine. They shall be sent to designated hotels for institutional quarantine. 

The government has also made it clear that it is mandatory for all passengers to obtain a “TN e-pass" through the TN e-pass portal by agreeing to the conditions that have been listed in the form of a declaration. The e-pass travel permit will be issued along with a QR code.

"All passengers will be stamped with quarantine seal with date with indelible ink before they are allowed to move out of the airport," the statement read.

Temperature checking and disinfection of luggage are among other precautionary procedures that will be implemented at airports. 

Outward travelers will be screened and only those who do not have any symptoms for the virus shall be allowed to board the flight. 

Air travel has commenced across the country, two months after the nationwide lockdown was implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The step has brought some relief to both the aviation sector as well as passengers. Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri told that the details were finalized after “a long day of hard negotiations” with various state governments. Few states have come up with restrictions and guidelines to avoid another surge in COVID19 cases in their respective states. 

The Minister has indicated that international flights could start operations from June.

1- Flight operations are starting across all the states today, except for Andhra Pradesh (which will start on Tuesday, 26 May) and West Bengal (which will start on Thursday, 28 May).

2- The pricing of air tickets has been fixed between Rs 2,000 to Rs 18,600 depending upon the flight duration for the next three months.

3- Some states such as Assam and Uttar Pradesh have made quarantine mandatory for passengers who will be flying into the state. They will be put in home quarantine for 14 days unless they are staying in the state for less than a week or they have already tested negative for COVID19.

4- Maharashtra is one of the states which was skeptical about resuming flight operations. The state announced that it would operate 25 flights from Mumbai.