Many passengers complained about their flights getting cancelled at the last minute, while some said that because of the long ques outside the airport, they have missed their flights.
Mumbai| The domestic airport has been opened up for the inter-state flights from today on the order of the Civil Aviation Ministry. Flights from major cities of the country will fly from today while taking necessary precautions and following social distancing norms in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government had shown reluctance in starting the flight operations since the state has the highest number of coronavirus cases across the country. But on Sunday, the state government agreed to open the airports for operations.
HW News visited Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj airport to interact with passengers flying today from Mumbai to various cities. Many passengers complained about their flights getting cancelled at the last minute. Many also said that the because of the long ques outside the airport, they have missed their flights despite coming several hours before the departure time. Passengers came by managing different type of transports for them to the airport from various parts of Mumbai. Those whose flights have been cancelled or delayed have now wait outside the airport in a quest to catch the next flight.
“I was supposed to fly to Prayagraj. I came here three hours before the departure timing of the flight. But the queue was so long that I got stuck there and missed the flight. I had booked the flight three days back but was thinking that it might get cancelled since the state government had not given them permission to operate. But last night, it was suddenly said that the flights will operate. So I took a taxi today from Chembur to reach here. They should make the process a little faster. I came three hours before the flight timing. I tried to talk them 30 minutes before my flight but they said the entry has been closed. SO now they have asked me to come on 27th for the next flight,” Ashish, who was supposed to fly today, told HW News.
A middle-aged man, whose flight got cancelled, told HW News, “We were supposed to fly to Delhi. My father has been sick back in town so we wanted to go there. The flight was scheduled at 11.05 AM. We reached here at 7.30 in the morning. But after reaching here, they told us that our flight has been cancelled. Now they have asked us to board the flight scheduled at 10.05 in the night. Now we will have to wait here. We have come all the way from Ulhasnagar, where would we go? They did not even message us that the flight has been cancelled. Now we have received a message that flight has been scheduled at night.”
Another man, whose flight got cancelled, said while talking to HW News correspondent, “I left home at 5 in the morning. My flight was scheduled at 11 AM. But when I reached here, they did not allow us to enter the airport. They told us that our flight number was not listed for today. After we toiled outside for some time, we got to know that our flight has been cancelled and its been rescheduled for the night at 10.05 PM. They don’t even let us enter. There are no facilities available for waiting, not even water is available. Earlier the authorities were not even ready to talk to us. After two-three hours, one of their officers came and told us about the cancellation and rescheduling of the flight.”
A senior citizen, who was supposed to fly to Bangalore, said, “I was happy that I reached here 3 hours before the scheduled time. But then I got a message from my friend who had booked the flight for me, that he had received an email stating my flight has been cancelled. So he asked me to ask the authorities here and confirm whether it was true. There was a long queue at the counter but I told the lady at the counter that I cannot stand in queue for hours. Then she told me that my flight has been cancelled. I am a senior citizen and I have been staying here alone since they announced the first lockdown abruptly. Now after coming here at the airport, they are telling me that my flight has been cancelled,” he explained his ordeal adding, “They didn’t even text me about the cancellation before. I took a taxi and came here paying Rs. 800 for it since nobody is ready to come here to the airport. The police officers harass the taxi drivers so they don’t easily agree to drop people here. When the first phase of lockdown was imposed, the ticked I had booked prior to the lockdown got cancelled. It happened for the second time as well. Now, this is the third time my flight has been cancelled. Why is the government harassing us like this? Who is responsible for this?”
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