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Social distancing up in smoke as Amausi airport comes alive

Lucknow: Ritika Seth freaked out when a man sitting next to her coughed in a flight from Delhi to Lucknow. Scared as hell, she chanted ‘Gayatri mantra’ during her 45-minute journey.

Mandatory social distancing protocol went up in smoke as domestic passenger flights resumed on Monday after a two-month hiatus at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow.



Besides, flyers were not informed about the delays in arrival and departure of flights and there were widespread glitches in web check-ins, leading to more confusion on Day One. “Earlier, there were news reports that the middle seat would be vacant to maintain social distancing. However, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently said it is not viable to keep the middle seat vacant as airlines will be forced to hike ticket price by 33%. Then what was the hurry?,” Seth said.

Like Seth, several passengers arriving in the state capital from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kashmir shared that though the standard operating procedure was being followed generally, social distancing was compromised. “It was a safe and healthy environment with an emphasis on contactless procedures, but social distancing went for a toss. Right from boarding the flight to landing at Lucknow airport, it was nowhere to be seen,” said Akhilendra Tripathi, who is part of the construction of Chenab bridge in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Hailing from Mau district in UP, Tripathi reached Delhi via a special train and then boarded a flight from IGI airport. He would be travelling to Pratapgarh for an official work.

Some travellers suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and spondylitis struggle to carry their luggage as trolley service has been temporarily suspended.

Before boarding the flight, passengers were provided free N95 masks, face shields and sanitizers. A large number of passengers also complained about the poor quality of sanitizers provided to them before they boarded the flight. “Sanitizer bottle was so small that it was finished in the journey itself. Also, the quality of sanitizer was substandard,” said Devansh Jaiswal, on eof the flyers.

Social distancing was also violated big time outside the airport, where prepaid taxi drivers was waiting for passengers. After being pointed out by TOI, an airport official finally disbursed them. However, they were unrelenting and soon appeared in groups.

Talking about key difference in flying pre and post-Covid, Shruti Gupta, who travelled from Pune to Lucknow, said: "Flying will never be same again and the world will be knows as pre-Covid era and post- Covid era... There were more restrictions now. We were not allowed to carry newspapers, food. The entire airport area was sanitised before the resumption of operations. Thermal screening of passengers was done before they were allowed to board their flights."

Talking to TOI, airport director A K Sharma said: “In all, three fights arrived and six departed for various destinations from Lucknow on Monday.”

Asked about the quarantine protocol, Sharma said: "Passengers will be quarantined as per the SOP released by the state government.” As the country geared up to restart domestic travel, the Uttar Pradesh government released a travel protocol meant for residents and visitors to the state.

As per the protocol, residents of UP coming back home will have to serve a mandatory two-week home quarantine upon their return to their home district. But those coming to state as visitors for official/business purposes will be exempted even as they will have to follow a strict protocol. The duration of the short visit should not be more than one week.

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