Vijayawada: Andhra folk were happy to be returning to their home state after two months of being stuck in other places due to the lockdown with the resuming of domestic flights on Tuesday.
The first domestic flight landed at Vijayawada airport from Chennai with 79 passengers and they were happy on return. They said that two months of lockdown restrained them from returning native places which depressed them and now they were happy over the resuming of domestic flights.
A professional from Krishna district working at Bangalore, J. Lakshmi Vijaya, said that the flights were very hygienic and sanitized. She said “Firstly, our body temperature was tested for fever and later we were told to give our samples for Covid-19 diagnosis. She said that if they were tested negative then they would be allowed to home quarantine and if the test was positive, then they would go institutional or paid quarantine.”
She said that they were very excited as they reached Vijayawada and APSRTC arranged buses to reach their destinations from the airport. She lamented that she tried everything to return but in vain. She said that she will complete the quarantine at home or in quarantine centre.
She said that she spent sleepless nights due to worries about hurdles towards returning home and now is happy with the safe return.
Another returnee, K. Raju, said that due to absence of transportation, he faced a lot of difficulties to return to AP. He said that his parents worried about him and his relatives frequently asked him to come at any cost but his efforts to return did not materialise.
He lamented that his parents were depressed and his return was a big relief to them. Like him, other Andhraites who returned from Bangalore were seen happy over landing in their home state ,agreeing to home quarantine and institutional/paid quarantine. They said that they got a big relief with the return home and thanked the central and state governments for restoring domestic flight services.
Airport director, G. Madhusudhana Rao, said that domestic flight operations resumed as the first Spicejet plane from Bangalore landed at Vijayawada airport early on Tuesday with 79 passengers and it returned to Bengaluru carrying 68 passengers. He said that another Indigo flight from Bangalore with 48 passengers arrived and departed with 50 travellers.
He said “As Bengaluru is not a sensitive zone (as far as Covid-19 cases are concerned), the passengers who landed here were advised home quarantine for seven days. In case of high-sensitive areas, the passengers will have to undergo either institutional quarantine or paid quarantine.”
