No passenger flight operated at Calcutta airport during Saturday’s complete lockdown but several passengers who had arrived from other cities on Friday night and had connecting flights in the morning were stuck.
The state government had asked the civil aviation ministry not to operate passenger planes in and out of Calcutta because flight and train services were not exempted from the lockdown.
Airport officials said on Saturday no passenger flight took off or landed but 10 cargo flights had operated out of the city.
Several passengers who had arrived on incoming flights from other cities on Friday night and had connecting flights on Saturday morning were stuck at the airport.
Rehanuddin, 26, arrived from Bangalore to Calcutta on a SpiceJet flight around 10pm on Friday. He was supposed to take a flight to Silchar at 9.30am on Saturday.
The airport’s deserted interior
“I spent the entire night outside the terminal building. Today, I walked for some time but could not find a hotel. I am new to Calcutta so I returned to the airport,” said Rehanuddin, who works as a supervisor for a private security agency in Bangalore. He ate at a small eatery that was open on the airport premises.
Tomizuddin, 24, who works a daily wage earner in Bangalore had also taken the same flight and was to take the 9.30am flight to Silchar.
“I don’t have any money and so I had some biscuits and slept outside the terminal. The airline has rebooked my ticket on Sunday’s flight,” he said.
Airport officials said all the paid accommodations inside the terminal were full. There is a provision for about 25 people to stay at the retiring rooms and dormitory. “The capacity has reduced because we have to ensure social distancing,” said airport director Kaushik Bhattacharya.
An ATC official at work on Saturday
On Thursday, the first total lockdown of the week, flights had operated and public transport were available for arrival passengers. But on Friday, the Bengal government wrote to the civil aviation ministry pointing out that flight services were not exempted from the lockdown. The government had also pointed out that when passengers were boarding the buses, social distancing was not maintained.
The airport authorities have informed that like Saturday, there would be no passenger flight operation on Wednesday.
Delhi flights
Two flights, Vistara and GoAir, are scheduled to operate from Calcutta to Delhi on Sunday, airport officials said.
The flights from six cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, are stalled till the end of this month after the state government had requested the civil aviation ministry for it because of high number of Covid-19 cases at those places.
“There is no ban on flights going from Calcutta to these cities. But the airlines had problems of aircraft rotation and so they were not operating the flights,” said one official.