MAKING IT HOME DURING A PANDEMIC
It was past-midnight on March 9, and at 35,000 feet in the sky, this reporter was browsing the movie catalogue aboard Air India 103 an hour after take-off on a flight to the US. The choice was Contagion, starring Kate Winslet, fitting with the general narrative of an unknown virus. More than three months later, having been stuck in a foreign land, it was finally time to return home on a Us-india repatriation flight--part of the Vande Bharat Mission.
In the first two phases of the repatriation mission, seats on specially scheduled flights were allocated to those who had applied. Only about 600 seats were available on the ChicagoDelhi route in the first phase, against more than 6,000 applications, an official said.
To cater to pending requests after a similar second round, the third phase allowed for booking the ticket directly on the Air India website.
This reporter opted for San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey, to be able to board a Newark-mumbai direct flight, and land closer home in Pune. At nearly $1400 (more than ~100,000) — it was about twice the usual fare on the route.
At New York
On landing at Newark, the news came that the flight was delayed by eight hours. There was no communication on email or a phone text message, as several co-passengers narrated. After long hours of no food, drink or information, an airport staffer came to the scene at 10 pm and gave a one-line for all: “Check-in will begin at 1:30 am”. An hour or so later, another staffer arrived with two boxes of snack boxes: Each with a packet of Lays, a nutri-bar, a cup of orange juice and some dry nuts.
There was no chance of taking a nap as everyone had to queue up for the allimportant thermal screening and verification. Those who had shelled out $3000 for a business class ticket, got preference.
It was 4:30 am when passengers reached the screening area, walking close to each other in the time of social distancing, before arriving at the boarding gate two hours prior to departure.
In-flight
The take-off was swift and within 10 minutes of the scheduled time.
Two meals, a mask and alcohol swabs, a face covering, and two water bottles were placed on every seat, to keep the crew at a safe distance. Neighbours, however, chatted with their masks pulled down. Somehow, the flight felt crowded as full-face film covering, backpacks and meal boxes in between seats took up much of the space.
And, the announcements from the cockpit were much less than usual.
Arrival in Mumbai
In contrast to New York’s stoic weather, Mumbai greeted Air India AI - 144 with the monsoon rains.
Airline workers and the security personnel exclusively took care of the arriving passengers, not caring about the risk. Smartphone checking for the
Aarogya Setu app was part of the drill for contact tracing.
Quarantine hotel was still a mystery: Will it be allotted or a matter of choice?
Outside the Mumbai airport, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation had arranged buses to go outstation. The buses were determined not to move unless they got at least 20 passengers—all of them from overseas. The ticket price was again much steeper: ~1340 for a 180-km journey against ~500 in usual times.
It was only when the bus entered the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation that the nodal officers shared the list of hotels where one could book a room.
Home, almost
This reporter reached a three-star hotel in central Pune, which would be the quarantine destination for a week. A personnel with a thermal gun was ready with his task. He shot a beep and noted down the temperature: 33.5 C. For the uninitiated, anything below 35 C is possibly hypothermia.
It was about time that to shell out ~21 ,000 ($275) for t he s even- day quarantine at the hotel, before one could proceed home for another week of self-isolation.