Kolkata allows 20 flights from May 28, Hyderabad 30; Vizag, Vijaywada to begin operations from May 26

The Maharashtra government on Sunday also announced that it will allow 25 passenger flights to take off from and as many to land in Mumbai starting May 25.

Photo: Twitter/@aaikolairport

Kolkata: The flight operations across India that were supposed to begin from Monday (May 25, 2020) at the Kolkata airport have now been deferred due to the aftermath of the Cyclone Amphan. The state government requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to defer the resumption of flights from Kolkata airport due to the destruction caused by Cyclone Amphan. 

The flight operations will now resume from May 28 with a reduced schedule. Kolkata and Bagdogra will each handle only 20 flights per day from May 28 onwards.

It has been a long day of hard negotiations with various state govts to recommence civil aviation operations in the country.

Except Andhra Pradesh which will start on 26/5 & West Bengal on 28/5, domestic flights will recommence across the country from tomorrow.

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 24, 2020

The Maharashtra government has also announced that it will allow 25 passenger flights to take off from and as many to land in Mumbai starting May 25. It added that the number will be increased gradually. Maharashtra already has more than 50,000 COVID-19 cases - the highest in India-and Mumbai has been the worst-affected city in the country.

The Hyderabad airport will also deal with only 30 domestic flights per day from Monday, and there will be no domestic services at the Vijaywada and the Vizag airports on Monday. 

As per request of state govt, operations in Andhra Pradesh will recommence on limited scale from 26 May. For Tamil Nadu there will be max 25 arrivals in Chennai but there's no limit on number of departures.For other airports in TN flights will operate as in other parts of country

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 24, 2020

Earlier on Saturday in West Bengal, five columns of the Indian Army were deployed to assist in restoration after Cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc. The Indian Army was deployed after the West Bengal government called for their support for immediate restoration of the essential infrastructure and services in the state.

The aviation sector in India has been hit hard as the Modi government decided to suspend all scheduled commercial flights since March 25 to curb the spread of COVID-19.

As the fourth phase of lockdown will end on May 31, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on May 20 that domestic passenger flights will restart from May 25 in a calibrated manner. 

Meanwhile in West Bengal, the death toll due to the devastating cyclone stands at 86. Out of the 86 deaths -- 22 were electrocuted, 27 after being hit by uprooted trees, 21 in a wall collapse, 7 in a house collapse, 3 drowned, 1 was bitten by a snake, 3 due to cardiac arrest and 2 from the uprooted lamp post.

On May 24, the state along the east coast reported its highest single-day spike in fresh COVID-19 cases. According to the health ministry data, the state reported 208 new cases in the last 24 hours taking its total tally to 3,667. The death count has surged to 200.