Flights bring relief and also worry for passengers
It was a mixture of worry and relief for passengers waiting for their flights and those who made it to the city on Monday at the Shamshabad airport.
While the airport authorities made extensive arrangements for ensuring hygiene and health of travellers, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar visited the airport to inspect the preparations. He went around the arrival and departure areas and was briefed by RGIA officials on the measures put in place for safety and comfort of passengers.
Waiting to fly to New Delhi was Divita, an employee with an IT company. “I will travel to my hometown from Delhi. Ever since the lockdown, life was tense. Though I know it will be safe, I am also worried at the same time. I hope I can meet with my family soon,” she said.
Waiting for a really long time was Swetha, an IT professional from Chicago, who came to attend her brother’s wedding before the lockdown. She travelled to the city with her husband Raju,
Our plan is to fly to Delhi, from there to Amsterdam and then on to Detroit and finally to Chicago. We have a six-hour layover at Amsterdam and that is worrying me.
— SWETHA, IT professional
also an IT professional, and daughters Aksha, and Amulya. “Our plan is to fly to Delhi, from there to Amsterdam and then on to Detroit and finally to Chicago,” she said. “We have a six-hour layover at Amsterdam and that is worrying me,” she said.
Though the lockdown was not what the family had planned for, Swetha said her children “had a very great time with the grandparents. We too had nice family time, enjoyed long conversations, and sharing good times.”
Among passengers who were excited to fly back home after the two-month lockdown was J.P. Kumar, waiting for his flight to New Delhi. “I am flying Air Vistara and am looking forward to meeting my two-year-old son, and my wife. All these days, I was at Jaggayyapeta in Krishna district,” he said.
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Kumar works as a storekeeper in a construction company and made sure he was at the airport four hours before his plane was to take off for New Delhi at 8.40 pm.
While those leaving Hyderabad were geared up for their journeys, those returning home were among those who said they were relieved that part of the nightmare of being stuck in the lockdown was over for them. “I went to Kolhapur to attend a family function and got stuck there. With the rest of my family here, it was a difficult time but I am so relieved that am back home now,” Neha Patel, a homemaker said. Two others who also landed in the same flight from Kolhapur, Ranjeet D., and his wife said they were looking forward to returning to Hyderabad and get back to work.