Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has clarified that while the use of Aarogya Setu App is preferable for air travel, it is not mandatory. Earlier, in the SOP issued by the government, it was notified that the usage of the app will be mandatory for everyone except children below the age of 14 years.
The minister also clarified that healthy senior citizens will not be stopped from flying.
The domestic flights service in the country will begin from Monday, May 5. Several airlines have already started booking the tickets for the upcoming flights.
Specific guidelines and SOPs have been issued by the government in regard to the flights. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has also issued guidelines for the airports and what measures need to be taken to make sure that the resumption of service is smooth and does not cause a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.
The domestic flights were suspended in the last week of March when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the first spell of lockdown in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
As of May 23, India has over 125,000 COVID-19 cases while the case tally worldwide has surpassed 5 million.