|
Country had resumed domestic
passenger flights from May 25
|
Kolkata(Agencies):Flight service to
Kolkata from six major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, is being
suspended from coming Monday for two weeks.
In a tweet, a spokesperson of the Kolkata Airport on
Saturday said, “It is informed that no flights shall operate to Kolkata from
Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai & Ahmedabad from 6th to 19th July 2020
or till further order whichever is earlier. Inconvenience caused is regretted”.
The step follows request by the West Bengal Government to
the Aviation Ministry to stop flights to Kolkata from the six above-mentioned
cities plus Surat and Indore for two weeks in view of the rise in coronavirus
cases in the state.
According to the state government, the spike is largely
owing to COVID-19 infected people coming to the state from outside.
West Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha recently wrote a
letter to civil aviation secretary P S Kharola to stop operation of flights
Kolkata from eight “high prevalence” cities.
“A large number of
cases have been reported from people coming in the state from outside with
infection. Government of West Bengal has decided to stop or curtail movement of
incoming flights and trains into the State. Accordingly, I approach you with a
request kindly not to schedule any flight to West Bengal from high prevalence
places viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai, lndore, Ahmedabad and Surat
and to stop movement of flights from these cities to Kolkata for 2 weeks
starting 6 July 2020”, Sinha wrote to Kharola.
The state government has also asked the Civil Aviation
Ministry to stop flights from these locations to the two others airports of
West Bengal located at Bagdogra (Siliguri) and Andal (Durgapur), respectively.
While asking for suspension of flight services from the
eight cities mentioned in the letter, the Chief Secretary also wrote that flight
services to West Bengal from the remaining Indian cities should also be
restricted to once a week only.
It is not immediately known what the Civil Aviation
Ministry is planning to do with regard to West Bengal government’s request for
suspension of flight services to the state from Surat and Indore and reduction
of the existing service to Kolkata from various locations to only one flight a
week.
The country had resumed domestic passenger flights from
May 25
While more than two hundred flights operated at Kolkata
Airport daily in the pre-lockdown days, the number came down to daily 65
flights only after the airport re-opened with the easing of restrictions.
Civil Aviation Secretary Kharola wrote to Chief Secretary
Sinha and reportedly spoke to him also yesterday for reconsidering the request
on suspension on flights. But the state government was unrelenting.
West Bengal has also written to Railway Board to stop
train service to the state from five locations having high prevalence of corona
positive cases.
No comments:
Post a Comment