A day after low-cost airline IndiGo offered its "resources, aircraft and crew" to the government to transport medicine, equipment and other relief material from one part of the country to another amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, SpiceJet on Thursday announced that the airline will operate a special flight to take 142 evacuees to Delhi from Jodhpur, so that they can be taken to a government quarantine facility in the national capital. The 142 evacuees were brought from Iran, which has been reeling under the coronavirus outbreak.
On Wednesday, 277 evacuees from Iran arrived at Jodhpur Airport on a Mahan Air flight from Tehran. There were 273 pilgrims and 4 non-pilgrims on the Mahan Air flight. After a preliminary screening at the Jodhpur Airport, the evacuees were shifted to the Army Wellness Facility established in Jodhpur Military Station.
SpiceJet said that the special flight will be operated on Sunday, following the Government of India’s request. The airline will deploy its Boeing 737 aircraft, which has the capacity to accommodate 189 passengers, for the assignment.
"The flight will take off at IST 01:40 hrs from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and land at Jodhpur Airport at 02:55 hrs on March 29," SpiceJet stated.
In its statement, SpiceJet said that the aircraft, which will be used for Sunday's special flight, will be thoroughly cleaned and fumigated upon its return to Delhi and the airline will follow all the protocols for its crew members.
Following the Central government's order suspending all domestic and international operations, the entire commercial passenger aircraft fleet of SpiceJet—82 Boeing 737, two Airbus A320 and 32 Bombardier Q-400s—is currently grounded. However, five Boeing 737 freighter aircraft of SpiceExpress (cargo division of SpiceJet) are operating as usual as there is no ban on cargo flights.
Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said, “These are challenging times when mankind is facing an unprecedented crisis across the globe. SpiceJet is proud to operate this special flight to help our government and our fellow citizens in a small way in this joint fight against coronavirus. We, at SpiceJet, stand committed to providing our services on each and every occasion of such national crisis and it will be our honour to assist in whatever way possible.”
On Wednesday, IndiGo offered its planes and crew to ferry relief materials in the country. Its CEO, Ronojoy Dutta, in a communication to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri, said, "I know you must be facing major logistical challenges in moving medicine, equipment and relief supplies from one part of the country to another. We at IndiGo would be extremely proud to be associated with this critical life-saving activity at this hour of great need for our nation." IndiGo is the largest airline in India with around 47 per cent share in domestic passenger traffic.
