Landed in Delhi after a #VandeBharatMission flight from Dulles, Washington today. Some thoughts & observations.
No passengers, no flights (security takes a minute at most) and no shops.
Airports have become ghost towns. Captures the Covid-19 economic disruption 1/n
No passengers, no flights (security takes a minute at most) and no shops.
Airports have become ghost towns. Captures the Covid-19 economic disruption 1/n
Flight was full. But it’s mostly pent-up demand. Elderly, who were visiting their children & students, mostly. Once this dries up, and the virus doesn’t slow down, things will become worse for the travel industry 2/n
Embassy & Air India ground staff; quite a few above 50 (seniors get posted to the US may be), were quite efficient & cheerful. The cabin crew dons a full body PPE, unlike passengers who get a PPE kurta. It’s flight, land & test, quarantine for 6 days and fly again for them 3/n
If this is the routine, and there aren’t many passengers coming from India to different destinations, part of the high fare (it is more than twice notmal prices) is justified.
& your heart goes out to the cabin crew. At high risk of both exposure & job-losses, yet cheerful 4/n
& your heart goes out to the cabin crew. At high risk of both exposure & job-losses, yet cheerful 4/n
CISF is in charge once you land at Delhi. They are doing a good job of it. Dividing people into state-wise groups of at most 30 ppl & escorting them to multiple halts (immigration etc.)
They were really sensitive & patient with distressed passengers (old, death in family etc)5/n
They were really sensitive & patient with distressed passengers (old, death in family etc)5/n
This is where the good part ends. The last lap is run by Delhi Civil Defence & Delhi govt. Involves medical screening, hotel allocation and transport.
By now you’ve spent more than an hour after de boarding. Patience is already low. And now you’ve all of your luggage 6/n
By now you’ve spent more than an hour after de boarding. Patience is already low. And now you’ve all of your luggage 6/n
And it involves getting out of terminal. Small hall, non-AC. And no place for social distancing if lots of ppl come at once. Max amount of paper work here.
The CISF ppl almost keep apologising in advance. Please use rest rooms etc. if you have to before you get out. 7/n
The CISF ppl almost keep apologising in advance. Please use rest rooms etc. if you have to before you get out. 7/n
DTC buses transport passengers to different hotels. means more waiting time before you leave. The heat really gets to you with a mask, esp face shield (you can’t see after a minute).
The staff just has masks & nothing else. This is also the waiting area for DTC drivers etc 8/n
The staff just has masks & nothing else. This is also the waiting area for DTC drivers etc 8/n
Ideally they should be moved to a bigger/better facility with air conditioning. Because it defeats the very purpose of observing such high care inside the terminal. Puts staff at very high risk. I guess the Delhi govt didn’t have a choice as AAI must have allocated space 9/n
A delhi policeman escorts the DTC bus doing hotel drops. There are almost 45 DTC buses deployed on 3 shifts. Passports are given to hotel directly. You’d only get them back during check out. You feel for the hotels too. Working with bare minimum facilities and staff 10/n
Overall: Thinngs are difficult. Our frontline workers are risking everything they have to serve us. There’s definitely a scope for improvement in their working conditions. That’ll automatically improve things for others as well.
At delhi airport, last lap needs urgent fixing n/n
At delhi airport, last lap needs urgent fixing n/n
