Everything that can go wrong, will. That’s Murphy’s Law. But in India, the application of any law is often variable. So too, with Murphy’s. So while “everything” that could go wrong did not, a lot did on the first day that the country opened up its skies for domestic air travel. It has been a manic Monday so far for air travellers, many of whom had been stuck in places far away from their hometowns and had keenly been waiting for a chance to return. Dozens of flights got cancelled without passengers being alerted before they left for airports, reportedly, with the result that they reached their departure terminals only to find they would not get to travel. Many took to social media to air grievances against airlines for allegedly failing to keep them in the loop of what was going on. There was a lot of anguish expressed at quarantine norms specified by a few states. Bangalore arrivals, as many suddenly discovered, would be hauled off for a week’s isolation at a government facility, to be followed by a week’s lock-in at home. Forms were said to have been issued asking for travellers’ details for this, but the plan seemed to have left out onward flight takers.
