India's among 10 worst-hit coronavirus nations as cases jump; air travel reopens

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India, biggest, single-day, jump, cases, Covid-19, worst, businesses, travel, reopened
A person wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carries luggage at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, after the government allowed domestic flight services to resume, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, May 25, 2020.

Mumbai - "The entire handling of the restart has been reduced to a farce, causing pain for airlines, airports, and passengers," said an industry executive on condition of anonymity.

By Reuters

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Published: Mon 25 May 2020, 10:29 PM

Last updated: Tue 26 May 2020, 12:35 AM

India on Monday posted its biggest single-day jump in cases of Covid-19, overtaking Iran to become one of the 10 worst-hit nations, even as the government allowed domestic air travel to restart.
India reported another 6,977 cases, taking its total ot 138,845, according to government data, despite the world's longest lockdown imposed in March by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Total deaths have passed 4,000.
The rise in new cases came as some businesses and travel reopened under a new phase of the national coronavirus lockdown.
Some passengers and crew members scheduled to board a flight on Monday at New Delhi airport said the mood at the terminal was sombre as security forces implemented strict social-distancing norms and passengers donned masks.
While the federal government has not insisted that passengers be quarantined after their flights, some states have implemented their own quarantine measures, creating confusion among travellers.
"Flying to meet my family almost feels like I am entering a war zone, it's the mask and gloves that add to the stress," said Subham Dey, an engineer travelling to the north-eastern state of Assam.
Airlines, including IndiGo, India's biggest carrier, SpiceJet and Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, had been preparing to resume operations from Monday with about a third of their capacity amid strict rules.
But new restrictions at major airports, including Mumbai and Chennai, forced airlines to scramble late on Sunday to revise schedules.
The confusion will make it even harder for airlines to recover from the impact of a two-month lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus that has already cost tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, industry executives, lawyers and analysts said.
"The entire handling of the restart has been reduced to a farce, causing pain for airlines, airports, and passengers," said an industry executive on condition of anonymity.
IndiGo had planned to start with about 430 daily flights while its low-cost rival SpiceJet said it would operate 204 flights a day and AirAsia India would start with 77 flights.
The final number could be much lower as some states, especially where coronavirus cases are rising, have curtailed air travel following relaxations that last Thursday allowed some domestic operations to resume.
IndiGo said on Monday it plans to fly just over 200 daily flights until May 31.
Potential travellers are also likely to be deterred by a lack of clarity on quarantine rules in different states.
"It's unfortunate there was no effective coordination between the states and central government. Each state has come out with its own rules, which is confusing and will compel only a few to fly," aviation law expert Nitin Sarin, a managing partner at Sarin & Co, said.
Indian Railways also said it would run an additional 2,600 special trains in the next 10 days to help nearly 3.5 million stranded migrant workers get to their homes.
The sudden lockdown announced on March 24 left millions of migrant labourers in the lurch with little other option but to walk to reach home, sometimes more than 1,000 km (620 miles).
Tens of thousands daily wage labourers have lost their jobs in cities, or left because they were scared to live in urban slum districts that have reported high rates of infections in the last two months.
More than 100 of them have also died - either in accidents or through sheer exhaustion on their way back home.

An airport staff member pushes trollies at the entrance of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, after the government allowed domestic flight services to resume, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, May 25, 2020.
An airport staff member pushes trollies at the entrance of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, after the government allowed domestic flight services to resume, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, May 25, 2020.

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