Will try to restart int’l flights before August: Puri

NEW DELHI: India will try to restart a good percentage of international passenger flights before August, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said, three days after announcing the resumption of domestic flights from May 25.

Amid the pandemic, few states have questioned the necessity to restart domestic services from Monday, he admitted, adding that some hesitation was expected even as the Centre has been trying to meet their concerns.

The minister, while addressing a Facebook Live session, clarified again that Aarogya Setu app is not mandatory for air passengers and they can instead give a selfdeclaration form.

Puri said during the session, “I can’t put a date on it (restarting international flights). But if somebody says can it be done by August or September? My response is why not earlier depending on what is the situation.”

When asked about the minister’s announcement on resuming international services, Vistara said it will await instructions and guidelines from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

“We must have a more ambitious goal (regarding international flights). Why not start them by mid-june or June-end or in July,” he added.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to contain the Coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said the Vande Bharat Mission, which began on May 7, would be able to bring a total 50,000 Indians, who have been stranded abroad, home by the end of this month.

Puri said on Saturday domestic passengers who do not have the symptoms of Covid and have a green status on the Aarogya Setu app need not be quarantined after reaching their destinations.

“We have clarified that if anyone has the Aarogya Setu app, it’s like a passport and you are, why should anybody want any quarantine,” he added.