On eve of int’l flight ban, flyers land to chaos at IGI
People report long wait, crowded waiting areas as week-long embargo kicks in
nNewdelhi:widespread chaos was reported at the Delhi airport on Saturday as hordes of people queued up for hours to get screened in the wake the Covid-19 outbreak, with in-bound international aircraft experiencing a surge in occupancy shortly before a complete ban on flyers landing in India was to come into effect at 1.31am on Monday.
Officials said that while only about 50 international flights landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is affected by the existing travel bans from various Covid-19-hit countries, these aircraft were brimming to capacity before a complete ban on travel to India.
No scheduled international commercial aircraft will be allowed to take off from any foreign airport for any airport in India after 5.31am on March 22, according to the government’s directives. These instructions will remain in force till 5.31am on March 29. A maximum travel time of 20 hours is permitted for such commercial passenger aircraft to land in India. No incoming international commercial aircraft will be allowed to disembark its passengers in India after 1.31am on March 23. The temporary measures to restrict the spread of Covid-19 will be reviewed by the government after the stipulated time ends.
Even though the number of international flights has fallen to nearly half because flights from most of the severely affected countries have already been suspended, there was a surge at the Delhi airport’s international arrival area because people were returning home just in time to beat the travel ban. The occupancy in international aircraft had experienced a dip in recent days over fears linked to the pandemic. So far, 315 people have been confirmed positive for Covid-19 in the country, with four deaths.
Several social media users posted photos of massive crowds waiting to be screened at the airport, complaining that they were forced to wait for several hours before the process could be completed. “It’s been six hours (waiting to be screened,” a Twitter user said, posting a photo of the airport teeming with people. He said complete chaos prevailed at the facility through the day.
Among those who were stuck at the Delhi airport was the wife of the former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi. “The initial health screening process took more than seven hours and since then, she is stuck with hundreds of other passengers in the immigration queue. There has been no specific information on how much time the final health screening will take. She’s acutely diabetic and like others, she has also been standing in queues without food or water. This is when thousands of flights have been cancelled. I understand the situation but wonder if things could have been managed better. I am expecting at least 4-5 more hours,” he said on Saturday evening.
People said being in close contact with hundreds at the airport at a time when the government has advised “social distancing” to fight the outbreak increases their chances of being infected with the disease.
According to a senior airport officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, despite the decrease in number of flights, from about 100 before the crisis, the international arrival area was chaotic on Saturday. “Earlier this week and last week, incoming international flights had less occupancy because of the virus outbreak. Because of the one-week ban, on
Saturday, the occupancy of every international flight coming to India was high,” he said.
“Passengers arriving at the Delhi airport are first examined by the APHO (Airport Health Organisation) staff. Those detected with symptoms of Covid-19 are directly sent to hospitals. Others, in batches of 30, are escorted by a team of five – including officers from the CISF, the airline and the Delhi Police – for their immigration clearance, baggage collection area, to the customs area and then outside the arrival terminal, where they are examined by staff of Delhi government’s health department team. This dual screening is a time-taking process. Because of the rush, some passengers even end up waiting for 4-5 hours,” the officer added.
Hemendra Singh, assistant inspector general, CISF, said: “.... We have provided all our men in duty with protective equipment.”