IndiGo Airlines on Tuesday decided to limit its operations to Kolkata, Durgapur and Bagdogra from Delhi and Mumbai. “The flights would be operational only on Mondays and Fridays”, it said in a statement. This is after the Government of West Bengal on Sunday announced a fresh set of curbs to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a surge in cases.
“The remaining flights on these six routes will be cancelled for the next three months. The limited capacity may lead to an inflationary impact on the airfares on these routes,” the airline said in a late evening statement. IndiGo further said it is in the process of informing the affected passengers. Customers will have an option to choose alternate flights or claim a refund, it added.
In the midst of the rising concerns over the Omicron situation in India, the West Bengal government in a whimsical move had said on Sunday that the state would operate flights from Delhi and Mumbai only twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. According to the state, two regions, Delhi and Mumbai have reported an alarming number of cases of the highly transmissible variant. Apart from restrictions on domestic flights, West Bengal has also temporarily suspended direct flights from the UK.
The government led by Mamata Banerjee has announced a slew of other restrictions to break the rise in COVID cases. It has shut down all educational institutions from Monday and is allowing offices to operate with a 50 per cent workforce. It is important to note that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has also decided to impose a curfew in Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays to curb COVID surge after Delhi CM Kejriwal has tested positive for COVID.
“All the government officials except for those engaged in essential services will work from home and 50 per cent workforce of private offices will work from home”, informed Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. Meanwhile, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar has indicated to impose lockdown Mumbai if daily COVID cases cross the 20,000-mark.