India’s flights will be grounded until at least May 17, following the latest extension to the covid-19 lockdown.

Today the country’s busiest airport has outlined the steps it will take to reopen once travel restrictions are lifted.

Delhi airport will use just one of its three terminals after lockdown

Domestic services are expected to be the first to begin and, when they do, Indira Gandhi International Airport will exclusively use terminal 3 for all flights.

As reported by India Today, the current plan is that airport shops and restaurants will be kept open so as to disperse passengers around the facility and prevent overcrowding in any one location.

Entry gates one and two will be made available for passengers of Vistara and Indigo, who will make use of check in rows A, B and C.

AirAsia India and Air India passengers, meanwhile, will use entry gates three and four, and will check in at rows D, E and F.

SpiceJet and GoAir passengers, as well as customers for all other domestic airlines, will enter by gate five and use row H for check in.

When international service does resume, those passengers will use entry gates six, seven and eight before checking in at rows J, K, L and M.

A spokesman for Delhi International Airport Limited is quoted as saying: “Initially, once the lockdown is over, the commercial passenger fights will be operating from Terminal 3 only. Later, once the number of flights increase, other terminals will be used.”

Flights in India have been grounded since the end of March as part of travel restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.

On Sunday, India reported more than 2,600 new cases - its biggest single-day jump. So far, nearly 40,000 cases have been recorded and 1,301 have been killed by covid-19.

Summing Up

Though they haven’t yet been approved by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, it’s exciting to read how India’s busiest airport is setting out plans for the day we will be able to fly again.

The initial plan suggests a slow and steady approach when flights resume, so it makes sense for Delhi to use a single terminal initially.

What do you make of Delhi airport’s plans and are you excited to fly again?