Karnataka seeks to scale down flights from 5 states with high prevalence of COVID-19 cases

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Thursday pitched for scaling down air travel from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, saying a large number of people arriving from these states have tested positive for COVID-19 and it would be difficult to manage quarantine if more arrived.

The government has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to reduce the number of flights from these states in view of high prevalence of coronavirus cases there, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said in a statement. Earlier, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, the minister said the government has decided to “suspend” air traffic from these states. “People are coming from other states to Karnataka…. we have decided to suspend air traffic from five states, as cases here (Karnataka) may further increase,” he said. In the statement released later, he clarified that the government has not sought a ban on flights emanating from these five states. “Karnataka has appealed to the Civil Aviation Ministry to take steps to lessen the air traffic to the state, with the sacred intention that there may not be adequate quarantine facilities, if there is huge turn out at a short span of time, he said.