Flight services in the ‘New Normal’
The pandemic that took the lives of more than 2 million people worldwide, has disrupted the stratum of society in all possible ways. While no industry was pitied from its effect, the aviation industry was one of the first sectors to suffer the burn. After two months of a complete ban on domestic and international flights, the services finally resumed on May 25th 2020, with a set of new rules and guidelines.
“Travel has never made me this paranoiac but taking a flight during a pandemic felt like I was preparing myself for a war against the greatest enemy,” says Sejal Agarwal, a 2nd-year Delhi University student who came back home recently.
Not just for the passengers, but it is a difficult time for the cabin attendants too. Nikita Gupta, a Cabin Attendant with IndiGo, India’s largest carrier, says:
“Apart from ensuring that the basic coronavirus guidelines, such as wearing masks, face shields and frequent sanitisation are followed on board, we as a cabin crew are now not allowed to assist the passengers with their bags to avoid the risk of contamination.”
Besides the added anxiousness, a few things have definitely changed. “Unlike earlier, it is compulsory to web check-in beforehand. Even the airlines have become stricter with their luggage rules. I had to pay extra for my slightly overweight luggage, which they never used to charge generally,” says Nirupama Shaw, a software engineer who recently returned to her home in Kolkata. However, a few things have changed for good. “What I really liked is the hassle-free web-check-in, no long queue, and proper sanitisation.” Web check-ins and contact-less travel are making the process go smoother. Ankita Choudhary, a Cabin Attendant at SpiceJet points out, “Sometimes it gets difficult for the elderly passengers as they find it difficult to cope up with this new technology.” She further adds, “While some passengers are super conscious and co-operative, some of them are very casual. They either don’t want to wear their masks or a face shield or the PPE gown and stand up as soon as the flight lands, causing chaos in the aisle.”
“While the industry did suffer huge losses, we are hopeful that more and more people will start gaining the confidence to travel again. Moreover, more people now prefer air travel over trains because of less exposure time to the virus. The fact that we’ll be transporting vaccines across and outside the country is something to be proud of,”says Harsh Shaw,a flight captain.
“Flying post-lockdown has become harder as we were not used to wearing face masks and PPE kits for long hours. But life is a teacher and it taught us how to survive and I think we did amazing,” says Nikita.
