Just as the country was set for a partial resumption of domestic flights this Monday, a few states that have some of India’s busiest airports seemed determined to ground the project. This dealt a blow to the hopes of thousands of passengers, many of them desperate to escape entrapment in cities away from home. It also created confusion over differing rules for different destinations and departure points. The Maharashtra government, for example, reportedly allowed some flights to and from Mumbai, but seemed reluctant to allow more, despite the city being such a major hub for business and air travel. This alone had imperilled a large number of itineraries. The plans of anyone hoping to land in Bangalore were also thrown in jeopardy by Karnataka’s order asking for arrivals from seven covid-hit states to be held in seven days’ institutional quarantine. Other states spoke of restrictions too, Kerala and Punjab among them. Taken together, these actions appeared to thwart the prospect of achieving any hint of normalcy in Indian skies. This was disappointing not just from the perspective of travellers, but also from the vantage point of our economy, which could do with a lot less uncertainty.
