Domestic chartered flight operations resumes, Centre issues full guidelines; details here

As India resumed the domestic flight services almost after two months of lockdown, the Civil Aviation Ministry has also permitted domestic chartered flights to resume their operations. Issuing guidelines for the same, the ministry said that "non-scheduled and private operators" of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and micro-light aircraft can resume their domestic flights from Monday onwards. The Ministry in its guidelines stated that the social-distancing and sanitisation norms in the advisory for domestic flights will be applicable to chartered flights as well. 

In its guidelines, the ministry also stated that if a passenger had manually booked his or her ticket for a chartered helicopter flight, the boarding pass will be issued at the helipad or heliport with minimum contact and after following all sanitisation protocols prescribed by local administration. It said that the passengers are required to be at the airport, heliport or helipad at least 45 minutes before the departure time. It has also advised vulnerable persons, such as very elderly, pregnant ladies, passengers with health issues to avoid air travel. 

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On the price of the chartered flights tickets, the Ministry said: "Price cap on tickets, issued by the aviation regulator DGCA last week for scheduled domestic passenger flights, will not be applicable on chartered flights. The charges of air travel (on chartered flights) to be as per mutually agreed terms between operators and the travellers."

FULL GUIDELINES HERE 

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Delhi HC dismisses plea

Earlier on April 18, the Delhi High Court has declined to interfere with the Centre and Air India's decision to operate chartered flights to repatriate foreign nationals to their respective countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. While hearing a plea against Centre filed through advocate HS Nanda, a bench of justices J R Midha and Jyoti Singh was of the view that the Centre and the national carrier have taken measures such as issuing protection kits to the pilots and crew of the flights to protect them from the novel coronavirus. The court also noted that the government has issued guidelines with regard to screening and testing of the pilots and cabin crew when they return to India and the measures to be taken during their home quarantine.

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Domestic flights commence

On Wednesday, after announcing the commencement of domestic air flights, Union Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the domestic flight operations shall be restricted to 1/3rd capacity of the approved summer schedule 2020 along with a new fare limit to make flights affordable. He said that for this fare structure sets a minimum and maximum level for three months - for e.g. Delhi-Mumbai flight fare will be set Rs 3500 and the maximum level at Rs 10000.  Flight routes had been divided into 7 sections-flying times of fewer than 40 minutes, from 40 to 60 minutes, 60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes, 120-150 minutes, 150-180 minutes and from 180 to 210 minutes. 

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