After span of 60 days, city ready to spread wings again; 13 flights on cards by June 1

ON AERIAL MAP Two flights will resume on May 27 and four on June 1; all passengers need to have Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones

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Passengers are requested to adhere to all the instructions and carry printed boarding pass with them.

AJAY BHARDWAJ , Airport’s chief executive officer

MOHALI: After a gap of two months, Chandigarh international airport is ready to resume its operations with a schedule of 13 of the 44 flights, seven of which will start from Monday, two on May 27 and four on June 1.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) released the schedule of flights to and from Chandigarh on Saturday. These flights will connect seven destinations — Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai, Leh, Bangalore, Dharamshala and Ahmedabad.

The flight operations at the airport were shut since March 24 due to nationwide lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airport’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ajay Bhardwaj said they have also formulated SOPs for the safety of passengers and airport staff, which include social distancing, stringent thermal screening. “Passengers are requested to adhere to all the instructions and carry printed boarding pass,” he said.

“We are expecting a footfall of 5,000 to 6,000 on Day One. Frequency of flights and more destinations will be added gradually. Our office is working as it was before the lockdown and the security is in place. Checking of passengers will be done according to the government guidelines.”

The airport suffered a loss of ₹15 crore due to suspension flights for two months.

Vivek Nijhawan, in-flight caterer at the airport, was of the opinion that food should have been allowed during the flight.