Coronavirus impact: All domestic flights canceled from midnight tomorrow
What's the story
In a major move, all domestic flights will be canceled from Wednesday to curb the coronavirus from spreading, the government said a short while ago. All airlines have been asked to plan the operations in a way that flights land at their destinations before 23:59 hours on Tuesday, March 24. Only cargo flights have been allowed to function. Here are more details.
Details
India is partially locked down to deal with COVID-19
Last week, the government of India had announced that international flights will not be operational for a week starting Sunday. This latest measure joins the long list of steps taken by the government to limit social distancing, the only way to keep a check on COVID-19. The number of coronavirus cases surged to 415 in India and nine people have died so far.
Lockdown
19 states and UTs under complete lockdown
Another major decision taken by the government today was the complete lockdown of 19 states and union territories. These include Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, J&K, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh. Some parts of six states and UTs have also been kept under lockdown, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, said.
Reason
Social distancing is the main goal
The sweeping restrictions have been imposed to promote social distancing, as COVID-19, the deadly disease, spreads through respiratory droplets. Keeping the same in mind, the Indian government took a historic decision to suspend rail services till March 31. The last time, Railways were hit was in 1974 when late George Fernandes led a 20-day strike. Back then, the government didn't sanction it.
Looking back
Government had earlier said domestic flights will remain operational
Before this big decision, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that domestic flights will not be landing in the National Capital. But soon his statement was overruled by the Centre, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had issued a clarification. This morning, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee informed she has asked BJP-led Centre to put brakes on flights landing in the state.