529 domestic flights carrying 45,646 passengers operated on Saturday: Puri

A total of 529 flights carrying 45,646 passengers operated on Saturday, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday. Domestic services were suspended in India due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown and resumed after a gap of two months on Monday. Indian carriers operated a total of 2,340 flights till Friday ie 428 on Monday, 445 on Tuesday, 460 on Wednesday, 494 on Thursday and 513 on Friday.

Puri said on Twitter on Sunday: "Domestic operations on 30th May 2020 (Day 6) till 2359 hrs. Departures 529. 45,646 passengers handled. Arrivals 530. 45,622 passengers handled." A departure is counted as a flight during the day. During the pre-lockdown period, Indian airports handled around 3,000 daily domestic flights, aviation industry sources said.

In February, when the lockdown was not imposed, around 4.12 lakh passengers travelled daily through domestic flights in India, according to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data. Airports in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have been allowed to handle a restricted number of daily flights as these states do not want a huge influx of flyers amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases. While domestic services resumed in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, they restarted in West Bengal on Thursday.