It was around noon on Monday and the terminal building at Visakhapatnam International Airport was abuzz with activity. It makes one think that whether the operation of flights has resumed.
There was a small queue of passengers, awaiting their turn, outside the ‘entry’ gate at the terminal building complex. CISF personnel were seen checking the credentials of the 'passengers', albeit, without touching any of the documents. 'Passengers' were asked to stand in front of the camera, while holding their documents and pointing them towards the camera.
The details as also the facial identity of the person were caught on camera and transmitted to the computer screen kept in front the CISF officials, sitting inside the terminal building. A similar ‘touch-free’ method was followed as 'passengers' proceeded for the baggage check and issue of boarding pass, even as Airport Director M. Raja Kishore, and CISF Deputy Commandant Sadiq Masih, were seen supervising the process.
It was all a part of the trial run being conducted to test the preparedness of the staff with regard to implementation of the social distancing norms as Vizag Airport will receive four flights from different destinations between May 19 and 21 under ‘Vande Bharat’ scheme of the Union government to bring back Indian nationals, stranded in different countries due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19.Nearly 400 passengers are expected to come by the first two flights from Manila and Abu Dhabi, which will arrive here on May 19. One flight from Doha and another from Kuala Lumpur are expected to arrive with 150 passengers each, on May 20 and 22 respectively. “We are expecting to get clearance for another two flights from Kuwait. These flights will be operated by Jazeera airlines, while the other four flights will be operated by Air India. We have already made Vizag Airport a ‘touch-free’ one by leveraging the available technologies for screening of passengers,” Airport Director M. Raja Kishore, told The Hindu.
“As the 'Vande Bharat' flights will arrive from Tuesday, we are doing this trial run to test the preparedness of the staff on implementation of the social distancing norms. Officials and staff of various departments are participating in the exercise. We have sought staggering of timings of the flights to prevent arrival of a large number of passengers at the same time,” he said.
Quarantine
“All the passengers coming by the Vande Bharat flights will be tested for COVID-19 on arrival at the airport. They will sent for compulsory quarantine either for ‘paid’ or ‘general’, based on their paying capacity. The quarantine will be done in the native district of the passenger,” said P.V. Sudhakar, Principal, Andhra Medical College. The cost of food and accommodation for those opting for hotels above 3-Star has been fixed at ₹35,000, for 3-Star at ₹28,000 and for budget hotels at ₹ 15,000 for the 14-day quarantine period.
