Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport catered to a total of 391 domestic flights in the first week after it resumed operations following a two-month prohibition owing to the coronavirus-forced nationwide lockdown.
According to CSMIA, the highest passenger load was seen on the Mumbai-Delhi route, with 8,130 passengers departing out of Mumbai for the national capital. The airport saw 42,500 total passengers, of which over 3,100 were out-bound and close to 11,000 were in-bound. Of the 391 flights, 196 were departures and the remaining 195 arrivals.
The government has so far permitted only 25 arrivals and 25 departures of scheduled commercial flights at the Mumbai airport each day.
While there were widespread cancellations in the first half of the week due to the capping of daily flights, flight schedules were more streamlined in the latter half.
Domestic carrier GoAir, which had held back from resuming operations from May 25, also started flights at CSMIA from June 1, beginning with three departures and as many arrivals on the Patna, Lucknow and Varanasi route, carrying a total of 858 passengers.
The Mumbai airport is now catering to 16 sectors, with Kolkata and Rajkot added on Thursday.
The airport has redesigned passenger movement across the airport. The airport entry gates, security and boarding have all been redesigned to minimise contact and ensure social distancing norms. This includes frequent sanitization and disinfection of the terminal buildings, including the vital and high touch point areas.
Passengers arriving in Mumbai undergo thermal screening conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, and are to undergo mandatory home quarantine for a period of two weeks, unless they are on a return journey spanning 2-3 days.
Also read | No frisking, empty retail shops, contactless boarding: Your comprehensive guide to flying out of Mumbai
