234 Indians land in Delhi from Singapore

After completing their checks at the airport, passengers were sent to hotels around the city for mandatory 14-day quarantine.

An Air India aircraft carrying 230 Indians from Singapore landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Friday morning, the first flight to land in the city as part of the Union government’s ambitious Vande Bharat repatriation programme. A second flight from Dhaka in Bangladesh, earlier scheduled to land in Delhi on Friday as well, was re-routed to Srinagar as all passengers on-board were from Jammu & Kashmir.

Medical staff in PPE overalls hand out medical advisories to Indians evacuees from Singapore and Dhaka at Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi on Friday. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

While passengers who landed in Delhi said it took most of them only around 30 minutes to complete their medical screening, immigration check, collect luggage and clear customs at the airport, some complained of long waiting hours, and said there was no social distancing on board the flight.

After completing their checks at the airport, passengers were sent to hotels around the city for mandatory 14-day quarantine.

A Delhi resident, whose 74-year-old father-in-law and friend’s 68-year-old father were travelling, said the two left the airport only around 4pm, even though the flight landed around noon.

“Their flight had landed before 12pm, but there was a long waiting time. My father-in-law has blood pressure problems and my friend’s father is diabetic. They had left Singapore at 8am. They said they were only offered a packet of biscuits, some chocolate and juice, a bun and some fruit during the flight. But nothing was given after the flight, even though by the time they reached the hotel, it was almost 6pm,” said the woman, who wished not to be named.

She said after arriving in Delhi, the two men were put in separate groups, based on their home states. “Since both of them are old, we wanted them to stay together but one of them is from West Bengal and the other from Uttar Pradesh, and based on this they were sent to different hotels, in Dwarka and Noida,” she said.

Some passengers also took to social media. One of them tweeted to the government of Rajasthan requesting deputation of an executive from the state at the airport. The passenger said that while there were representatives of other states, there was none from Rajasthan. He requested arrangements for him to be sent to Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

However, according to special secretary (health and family welfare), Shilpa Shinde, who is also the nodal officer for the operation, the entire process “went smoothly”.

“The passengers did not have to wait for long hours to get through the entire process. It all went smoothly. From the airport, they are being ferried in government buses to the paid quarantine facilities,” she said.

Shinde added that the passengers were given an option to choose from a set of hotels, which have been roped in to set up quarantine facilities.

An airport official, wishing not to be identified, said it took them not more than 25 to 35 minutes per person on an average for screening the passengers, escorting them to dedicated immigration counters for clearance, helping them collect their luggage and then reaching the triage area passing through the customs.

At the triage area at the airport, the director-general of health services (DGHS) had deputed as many as 20 health teams, comprising doctors and paramedical staff, to conduct screening of all passengers.

The CISF, which led the escort team, had also made additional deployment to streamline and expedite the process, officials said, on condition of anonymity.

Senior officials involved in the movement of the passengers, requesting anonymity, said that most of them were taken to hotel IBIS and hotel Red Fox in Aerocity. Some opted for Le Meridian in Central Delhi.

“We have received around 15 people so far and have readied dedicated floors for them with separate entries. The rooms have been kept minimal so that the dedicated housekeeping team does not have to visit them frequently,” said Meena Bhatia, general manager of the Le Meridian. When it comes to food, Bhatia said the hotel has kept the menu “close to home cooked food”.

“Since they have been away from home for a long time, we are starting with fresh, homely meals for them which will be served in disposable boxes in their rooms. Because of the lockdown, we are working with limited services. To ensure our guests are comfortable, we are keeping in touch with them on WhatsApp. If they need anything, they alert us on WhatsApp,” she said.

About 200 rooms at the Le Meridian hotel, 200 at Sheraton and 250 at Vivanta by Taj in Dwarka, have been reserved for the purpose, besides rooms at Red Fox and IBIS in Aerocity, Welcome Hotel by ITC and Red Fox in Mayur Vihar Phase 1. Rooms are being offered for prices between Rs 2,000 plus taxes and Rs 4,800 plus taxes, depending on the overall rating of the hotel and the choice of room (single or double bed).

Sylvain Laroche, director of operation, Ibis & Ibis styles India said, the team at ibis hotel in Aerocity received 34 guests for quarantining on Friday.

“While we continue to maintain the same structure with separate entry & exits paths, food served in takeaway boxes and delivered outside their rooms, we are also implementing new ideas like sharing the menu on their TV screens with no physical contact. As done in the past, the hotel team will be in touch with the guests via calls to check on them and ensure that their stay is made as comfortable as possible,” Laroche said.

“We will be serving Indian/Chinese/Western vegetarian meals. In case there are any requests from these guests, we will look into it,” he said.