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India to introduce seaplanes for travellers on 16 routes

Think of seaplanes and it's perhaps the Maldives that you think of; that is going to change very soon as India is on its way to introduce seaplanes for travellers on not just one but a whopping 16 routes. The first seaplane in India is slated to take off on October 31 this year, connecting Sabarmati riverfront to the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. The service is hailed as the first of its kind, and will involve a 19-seater seaplane that can accommodate up to 12 passengers at a time. The initiation of this seaplane service is a part of Indian government's UDAN scheme and is aimed to promote tourism in the country. UDAN is a regional airport development scheme initiated by the government to ease connectivity as well. It has been reported that planning in on to build more water aerodromes, which facilitate landing and take-off for the said seaplanes, at various places across the country; there are 10 such sites currently. These 10 sites are spread across the country and include: - Statue of Unity, Gujarat - Shatrunjay Dam, Gujarat - Sabarmati Riverfront, Gujarat - Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Telangana - Prakasam Barrage, Andhra Pradesh - Umrangsao Reservoir, Assam - Brahmputra Riverfront, Assam -Long Island, Andaman & Nicobar - Swaraj Dweep, Andaman & Nicoba - Shaheed Dweep, Andaman & Nicobar The service is also expected in Uttarakhand on Yamuna to Tupper Dam stretch.

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Flights from India to China's Wuhan all set to resume operation

As per a recent development, India’s national carrier is all set to operate flights to Wuhan on October 30. This will be the first flight operation to the central Chinese city, which was the trigger spot of Coronavirus. Wuhan is where the virus reportedly emerged in December and then spread across the world. The place was officially declared COVID-free in June, and all restrictions had also been relaxed. The Indian Embassy recently announced that a Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flight would be operated from Delhi to Wuhan on October 30. As per this development, this will be the sixth VBM flight by Air India to China to facilitate travel for Indians stranded in both countries. The press release issued by the Indian Embassy further added that taking flights would be made available on payment basis as per the fares decided by the airline. These flights will facilitate travel for those Indians who have valid work visas to return to China and bring back those wanting to return home. Those undertaking the journey would have to abide by all protocols issued by the Government of India, which include a mandatory institutional quarantine of 7 days on payment basis and home quarantine of 7 days following arrival in Delhi, as per the press release. Eligible OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card holders and Indian nationals, who wish to travel on one of these flights, must register at the Consulates/Embassy as per jurisdiction by furnishing all the required information about them. Those who could not travel by previous Vande Bharat flights, will also be required to re-register themselves by sending detailed information about them. The Delhi-Wuhan flight has been announced after the cancellation of October 23 flight between Delhi-Guangzhou. However, those arriving from New Delhi will be required to undergo 14-day quarantine in the designated hotels. Those keen to travel on this route have been advised to reach out to the designated helpdesk, i.e., helpdesk.beijing@mea.gov.in, for any query or assistance.

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Mumbai’s Goregaon Film City reopens for public tours with COVID-19 safety rules

Mumbai, the hub of Hindi cinema, is visited by tourists from far and wide with several cinema lovers making it a point to not miss visiting the Goregaon Film City. According to the reports, the Goregaon Film City has reopened for movie shoots after six months and is also allowing tourists to visit for a paid tour. Launched by the Maharashtra state government, Mission Begin Again is focusing on bringing the Maximum City to its usual pace in a phased manner. The reopening of Film City is also a part of the same. Movie and TV serial shoots have also been permitted with some precautions and restrictions in place in order to avoid any incidences of Coronavirus transmission. - Symptomatic patients showing signs of cold or cough will not be allowed access to the film city. - Tourists will have to bring food from home, as snacks will not be made available. - No visitor will be allowed to carry food from home; eatables can be purchased from the film city. - No pregnant woman, senior citizens and children will be allowed to visit the premises. - Tourists are expected to refrain from bothering actors or interrupting film shoots during the tours. Rules for operators - Tour operators have to keep the occupancy of their buses to 50 per cent of total capacity. - Thermal check of the tourists has to be done before allowing them to board the bus. Body temperature of every person should be between 5 to 27 degrees. - All tourists are supposed to wear masks and gloves. Regular thermal checks are to be done regularly.

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SpiceJet to operate 8 flights to Chittagong & Dhaka under air bubble

Under India’s air bubble agreement with Bangladesh, SpiceJet will operate 8 new flights to Chittagong and Dhaka. SpiceJet will operate non-stop flights between Kolkata and Chittagong four-times-a-week. Besides, the airline will operate flights on the Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi, Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata and Chennai-Dhaka-Chennai sectors. All the flights are scheduled to commence from November 5, 2020. SpiceJet will deploy a mix of its Boeing 737 and Bombardier Q400 aircraft on all these routes. Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet is delighted to add Chittagong as its 11th international destination and announce the launch of our new flights connecting Dhaka with Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. We have always witnessed good demand on our flights to Bangladesh and we are confident that our new flights will bring smooth connectivity for the passengers travelling on these routes.” Bookings are now open on www.spicejet.com, SpiceJet’s mobile app and through online travel portals and travel agents.

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Pune airport to get new multi-level car parking and more impressive features

Soon, Pune airport will get a brand new terminal with multi-level car parking, boarding bridges, restaurants and other convenient features. The terminal has been scheduled to get ready by March 2022, and INR 475 crores have been allocated for its construction. Its objective is to control the existing volume of passenger traffic. According to reports, Pune International Airport will get an integrated terminal building. As revealed by the Airports Authority of India, this new terminal will have the capacity to accommodate 2300 passengers (1700 domestic and 600 international) during peak hours. The terminal will be energy efficient and have five boarding, 34 check-in counters, and in-line baggage handling system. In addition, it will be equipped with different eateries and cafés. A new multi-level car parking facility, having the capacity to park 1024 cars will be built for the convenience of passengers. A sky bridge will link the parking area to the departure area of the present airport building. While the new airport terminal itself will undergo completion by March 2022, the multi-level car parking will be ready by April 2022. Reportedly, 40 per cent of the construction work of the new terminal building is already completed.

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Delhi airport to soon start Covid-19 testing for international departures

International passengers taking their flights from the Delhi airport will soon be able to get themselves tested for Covid-19 right before their departure, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre which operates the testing lab at the airport said on Saturday. The Covid-19 testing facility, which started operating on September 12 at the Delhi airport, is available only for international arrivals currently. Earlier in the day, Genestrings issued a press release saying, “The (testing) facility has now been extended to air travellers leaving India for other countries.” However, the company later revised its press release, saying that the testing facility “will soon” be extended to air travellers departing from India. “Notably, international travel rules require passengers travelling from one country to another to produce Covid negative reports,” it added. The lab uses RT-PCR tests and provides reports within 4-6 hours. “The test is available 24/7 and is priced at Rs 2,400 as mandated by the Delhi government,” the release said. “As more people are now taking up international travel, Delhi Airport authorities felt the need to provide the testing facility to outbound passengers as well,” said Rajat Arora, Director, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) started the Covid-19 testing facility on September 12 at the multi-level car parking area of Terminal 3 in collaboration with Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, which is a group company of Yashoda Hospitals. Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. However, special international passenger flights have been operating in India under Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral air bubble arrangements formed between India and other countries since July. India started scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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