Centre cancels flights to Andhra Pradesh, services to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam & others will resume on Tuesday

VIJAYAWADA: Domestic flight services to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and other airports will resume only on Tuesday while other airports have geared up to receive flights after a lockdown period of nearly two months. Though airport authorities in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam made arrangements to receive flights on Monday, union civil aviation ministry in a late night communication said services will be cancelled on Monday and Tuesday.

No reason, however, has been attributed for the cancellation of services for two days. It is believed that services will resume from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, health authorities have planned quarantine for passengers landing in AP airports from other states. However, passengers from airports within the state will not be subjected to quarantine. However, all passengers will be screened for Covid-19 and their contact details recorded for follow up action, if needed.

Limited number of flight services were planned from airports in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Rajahmundry, and Kadapa. Seven services will be operated out of Vijayawada once the airport authorities get the clearance. The Airport Authority of India ( AAI ) has announced the resumption of limited number of services.

Vijayawada airport director G Madhusudhana Rao said "We have made elaborate arrangements to facilitate flight arrivals and departures. But we received message on cancellation of services for Monday".

"The flights that were scheduled from Vijayawada included three arrivals and departures to Bengaluru, one each arrival and departure from Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kadapa. Special arrangements have been made to screen all passengers at check-in and departures."

Home quarantine stamps on flyers

Special counters will be opened by the district administration to enrol the details of each and every passenger, Rao said. Safety of airport staff is also given top priority and personal protection equipment (PPE) kits and masks are provided for all airport staff, he added.

Meanwhile, Krishna district authorities are gearing up to collect the data of all passengers arriving at Vijayawada airport. Home quarantine stamp will be imprinted on the passengers, who opt for home quarantine. Officials said that 14 days home quarantine is must for every passenger to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Flights from Hyderabad, Kolhapur and Bengaluru will be operated to and from Tirupati airport.