Kochi: Most of them have never seen an aircraft from close quarters and when their dream of a flight journey finally materialized, their excitement knew no bounds. The occasion was a group of 46 senior citizens experiencing a flight journey from Cochin International airport to Thiruvananthapuram as part of a ‘Geriatric Tourism’ initiative under the Age-Friendly Ernakulam Programme. “With life being fast, senior citizens are often confined to their homes though they too harbour thoughts of travelling.
This is mainly due to health issues and unfriendly conditions. We aim to provide an opportunity to such citizens with the help of the Indian Medical Association, Kochi Chapter, besides the Kochi Corporation and Municipalities,” said Johns Augustine, Director, MAGICS, an NGO associated with the programme. “We’re really excited as many of us were first-time fliers. However, as we were about to board the aircraft, we were filled with fears with thoughts of suffocation. However, it all went smoothly and we understood that flying is after all not that risky,” said 82-year old S Savithri Amma, the eldest among the group.
Earlier the group with 40 women and six men reached the airport to catch the Indigo Flight at 9 am. They reached Thiruvananthapuram and headed straight to the Legislative Assembly building and personally saw how the government works. They had a lunch break and then proceeded to the Sree Padmanabha-swamy Temple at East Fort before catching the train back at 5.50 pm. “The team was accompanied by a professional doctor till they reached Nedumbassery to oversee their health and the service of another doctor was ensured at the state capital too. We will continue such tour programmes for the senior citizens. The whole cost including food per individual came to Rs 2000 only,” Augustine said.
