New Delhi, (Asian independent) Air passenger numbers along with domestic flight operations continued to increase on Wednesday, the third day after services were resumed.
Till 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 354 departures and 288 arrivals were reported, ferrying almost 48,000 people.
On Twitter, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said: “People who were stranded in different parts of the country are now able to fly to be with their loved ones.”
“Till 5pm on day 3 today, there have already been 354 departures & 288 arrivals with a total of 47,917 people at various airports.”
“The numbers continue to grow.”
On Tuesday till 5 p.m., airports had handled 325 departures and 283 arrivals with 41,673 passengers.
As per Wednesday’s schedule, 129 scheduled departures and arrivals were planned from Terminal 3 in the national capital.
Similarly, Mumbai’s CSMIA saw a total of 50 scheduled flights, which included 25 departures and the rest arrivals.
“Operations are going on smoothly. Almost no flight cancellations. The passenger numbers and flights will increase from tomorrow with the addition of West Bengal,” Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip.c om, told IANS.
“Plus the fact that some airlines like IndiGo and AirAsia India have started giving full refunds has started to restore passenger confidence.”
At present, barring West Bengal, domestic flight services have been resumed to all states.
The first flight to and from the state will be operated on Thursday.
The Centre has allowed limited passenger flights — about one-third of the summer schedule — to operate between metros and other destinations from May 25.
Passenger air services were suspended on March 25 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19.
