Various measures are taken up by the government to manage the COVID-19 crisis that involved restrictions on long-haul travel. Starting 25th May, domestic flights are permitted all over the nation, along with train service for migrant workers and evacuation service to the stranded Indians in other countries. In addition to these relaxations, the government has directed several guidelines for safer traveling. All the states and UTs are allowed to develop particular protocols based on their situations concerning quarantine and isolation.
Jammu and Kashmir
All the passengers traveling to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, either by road, rail, or air need to go through thorough checking and other health protocols.
The passengers or returnees will be sent to the Administrative Institutional Quarantine after the test for 14 days. The ones with the negative test results will be sent home for home quarantine, while the one with positive test results will be sent to COVID-19 dedicated hospital for treatment. This whole process could also take less than 14 days. Passengers are allowed to choose paid Institutional Quarantine facilities.
Himachal Pradesh
The state has asked all its passengers and returnees to download Arogya Setu App, maintain strict social distancing, and to cooperate with the thermal screening process conducted during arrival by state authorities.
The Entry and Exit from the state borders could only be done between 7 am to 7 pm. Valid tickets and boarding passes will be sufficient to travel beyond the airport and station.
Passengers traveling to Himachal Pradesh from Red Zones are obligated to go through institutional quarantine. Meanwhile, the ones traveling from Orange and Green Zones will be sent to quarantine at home after proper screening. The people kept under institutional quarantine are mandated to go through COVID tests on the 6th to 10th day of the quarantine period. If the results are negative, they will be released for home quarantine. Individuals can choose a better quarantine facility on a payment basis.
If a person carries ICMR-authorized negative COVID-19 test report just 3 days prior to the journey, he or she will not be sent to Administrative Institutional Quarantine. The person released from the Institutional Quarantine should submit their travel details to local ULBs/ PRIs for monitoring their health during Home Quarantine. The passengers with positive test results will be sent to the hospital at the earliest.
Uttarakhand
The Liaison Officer and Nodal Officer of the Airport Authority will work to coordinate the movement of inbound and outbound passengers. The health desk of the airport will ensure that all passengers go through thermal screening.
All passengers would be needed to register at https://dsclservices.in/uttarakhand-migrant-registration.php. Institutional Quarantine is obligatory for a time period as mentioned by health authorities. The inbound passengers will have the option of choosing a quarantine center on a payment basis.
Under the responsibility of the Liaison Officer, only earmarked vehicles are allowed to operate as transportation services. There is a special vehicle service arranged for symptomatic passengers. The drivers providing the transportation service are asked strictly to stick the social distancing norm. The employees and drivers are well trained regarding all the dos and don’ts and the liaison officer is in charge of monitoring their activities.
The passengers will get their travel permission only after the submission of proper medical documents to the District Nodal Officers. The state has completely seized the movement to and from containment zones. The outbound passengers are asked to strictly adhere to guidelines of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and travel by authorized taxis or personal cars.
Punjab
The Punjab government has strictly decided on 14 days of home quarantine of every traveler and returnee even if they do not show symptoms.
Meanwhile, the frequent interstate travelers who travel for their job like salespeople, doctors, engineers, traders, etc. need not go under home quarantine. These people need to submit an undertaking of self- monitoring to the Deputy Commissioners and Sub-Divisional Magistrate, through which they will inform about any growing symptoms. Upon submitting so, the State will provide them with a special pass. They will also be needed to download the COVA App and remain active on it.
Uttar Pradesh
The Uttar Pradesh Government has made it mandatory for all passengers to register on https://reg.upcovid.in as soon as they leave the airport. If passengers face problems during registration, they may dial 1800-180-5145.
After registration, the passengers will receive an OTP in their respective mobile number for confirmation. Then a message or PDF through email will be sent on their mobiles; these will be carefully monitored while exiting the airport. After the CISF posted in the airport carefully examines the message, one may go out of the airport. The passengers who want to extend their stay in Uttar Pradesh need to go through a 14-day home quarantine, and if he/she does not have the facility to do so, they will have to be in Institutional Quarantine. The passengers who will stay in Uttar Pradesh for 7 days, and will travel further or back need to provide their complete travel plan.
Madhya Pradesh
Based on the regulation for resuming air traffic, the main airports of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal and Indore will go through developments of establishing medical teams and technical teams. On both the arrival and departure sections, technical teams will collect all their necessary details, and the medical teams will conduct thermal screening. The passengers with normal temperatures will be allowed to enter the city.
Passengers with any abnormality in temperature will have to get tested for COVID-19. If negative, he/ she will be sent for home quarantine, and if positive, based on the severity of the symptoms the person will either be sent to institutional quarantine, COVID care center or dedicated COVID treatment hospitals.
Chattisgarh
The passengers willing to travel to Chattisgarh need to register on the portal http://epass.cgcovid19.in/ before they fly into the area. At the Raipur airport, the Department of Health and Family Welfare will set up health counters to assist the passengers. Designated counters for thermal screening will be established, and the passengers, along with their bags, are obligated to be screened.
Passengers with possible symptoms will have to attend the isolation kiosk from where they will be sent to Institutional Quarantine, while airport staffs assist them with their belongings. The asymptomatic passengers will either be sent to home quarantine, institutional quarantine, or quarantine centers based on their choice and payment for 14 days. All the baggage will be disinfected before leaving the airport.
Odisha
State and local administration will look into the issue of proper connectivity and transportation service to the airport. The CISF staff will work to avoid any congestion, and the car parking area will be closely monitored. The passengers and airport staff can only avail of selected taxis or personal cars.
All the passengers are asked to register on Arogya Setu App and reach the airport 2 hours before departure time. Before entering the Terminal Building, the passengers must walk through the thermal screening.
Lakshadweep
The island territory of Lakshadweep has formed a set of protocols, to prevent it from struggling with Coronavirus. In the wake of domestic flights being resumed, Lakshadweep will only allow passengers with COVID-19 negative report to enter the island.
Additionally, District Magistrate will issue permits as Nodal Authority for traveling. The employees of the Union Territory and the natives will not need the permits as ID cards will be sufficient for them.
Since the Indian mainland is still seeing increased corona cases, traveling to the area without some serious cause like medical treatment will not be allowed. Until the cases in Kerala, Karnataka, and the other parts of the mainland cease to rise, only patients for special treatment, officials of Lakshadweep Administration, students, teachers, employees in the Mainland, any other persons of emergency needs will be allowed to travel from Lakshadweep to Kerala. Everyone traveling to Lakshadweep needs to carry a COVID-19 negative report.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
The passengers traveling through domestic flights and helicopters will be led to designated vehicles for the screening and scanning process in the Screening Center. The passengers with identified symptoms will be moved to Institutional Quarantine. While there, on the 5th day of the 14 days, period samples of COVId-19 shall be taken. If the test samples are negative, the home quarantine will be allowed for pregnant and lactating mothers, children below 10 years old, people with serious heart, kidney, and liver diseases, elderly people, and people with special needs. In the case of business officials, technical experts, government servants, their sample would be taken on the same day. If negative, they will be allowed to resume work, if positive, they will be sent to COVID Health Facility.
Andaman and Nicobar
Andaman and Nicobar Islands have also developed protocols based on the announcement of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. On arrival at the airport, the passengers will go through thermal screening, and the passengers will need to share their contact details and residential address. The asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to continue their travel towards their home or next destination whereas the symptomatic passengers will be sent to COVID Care Center for isolation.
Meghalaya
Meghalaya Government has decided that no passengers willing to reach Meghalaya will be picked up from Guwahati Airport before 10th June 2020, since they all will undergo a thorough screening process there. Later, these passengers will be transported to Meghalaya by buses from Guwahati Airport. It is also required for the passengers to register at http://meghalayaonline.gov.in/covid/registrall.htm for confirming the itinerary.
Mizoram
The Government of Mizoram has made it mandatory for all the travelers to intimate their flight and ticket details to resident representatives of the government of Mizoram. No passenger should board their flight to Lengpui Airport without acquiring permission from the Home Department, Government of Mizoram.
Anyone opposing this regulation and arriving at the Lengpui Airport will not be allowed to leave the airport premise. All the passengers will undergo a thorough screening process and a rapid antibody test. Passengers coming from Red Zones will have to go through the RT-PCR test, and every passenger needs to abide by a mandatory 14 days quarantine. The transport services arranged by the Deputy Commissioner will lead the passengers to their designated quarantine facilities from their respective arrival points.
Nagaland
The government of Nagaland has set the protocols of a 3-day institutional quarantine for passengers coming from Orange and Green zone and then 14 days of home quarantine after being screened and found asymptomatic.
Passengers from Red Zones found to be asymptomatic will still undergo 14 days of institutional quarantine and 14 days of home quarantine. The passengers will need to provide their proper documents, contact details, and itinerary. On arrival, the medical team will be ready to conduct thermal screening. Asymptomatic passengers will be sent to quarantine sites by designated buses and the symptomatic ones will be sent for further medical treatment to designated hospitals.
Karnataka
The Karnataka Government has issued the directive that any passenger traveling from a high prevalence state shall be kept under institutional quarantine for 7 days. If their test results come out as negative, they will be released for 7 days of home quarantine. The passengers traveling from low prevalence states will have to undergo 14 days of home quarantine. The airport faculties will conduct a screening process on the departure and arrival and would be asking for all the contact and traveling details from the passenger.
Kerala
The passengers will have to register at Covid19 Jagratha after securing their flight tickets, the details of the registration have to be shown in the registration desk.
The travel permit will be sent to the registered mobile number with a QR code. After the screening process, all the asymptomatic passengers will go through mandatory home quarantine for 14 days and the symptomatic ones will be shifted to COVID Care Center.
West Bengal
The West Bengal Government has postponed the domestic flight services to 28th May, since the airports were highly damaged by the cyclone Amphan. It will resume with 20 flights each day with all the important guidelines as per the Ministry of Civil Aviation being religiously followed. The Chief Minister has also urged to postpone the intra-state flight movement between Kolkata Airport and Bagdogra Airport for a few days. All the passengers entering Bengal from 28th May, need to submit a self- declaration form mentioning that they have not been tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two months. The passengers will be thoroughly screened on arrival, and at the departure. Only the asymptomatic ones will be allowed to board the aircraft. All the incoming passengers need to monitor their health for 14 days and shall inform the local medical officer or a state call center in case of any occurrence of symptoms. The samples of symptomatic passengers will be collected and sent for health condition assessment to the nearest health facility. The passengers with moderate to severe symptoms will be quickly admitted to COVID-19 Health Facility. Apart from these, the state has undertaken the decision to regularly sanitize the airport, and get adequate sanitizers for the usage of the passengers at different spots in the airport.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra being at the top of the COVID chart has decided to allow 25 passenger flights to take off and an equal number of landings in Mumbai each day for the upcoming days. It promised that the numbers will be gradually increased with the situation taken under control. The news was approved based on the 1/3rd schedule from other airports of the state. Air India in Mumbai Airport has been offered two slots instead of ten as offered earlier.
Tripura
The domestic flight facility has not resumed as flights to and from Agartala are canceled, according to the officials of Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. The services are halted because the flights are Kolkata connected, and the flight service in Kolkata is postponed due to Amphan Cyclone.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Government has made it mandatory for all the passengers traveling to the state to register to the TNePass Portal- https://tnepass.tneaa.org. After securing their flight tickets, they are required to fill up their details in the portal. The government has allowed 25 flights per day to Chennai, with no restriction on Covai, Madurai & Trichy sectors. The flights coming from Maharashtra and Gujarat are still being discussed upon, but there is no restriction for outgoing flights.
