COVID-19: Direct Flights from India suspended

Australia is suspending direct flights between Australia and India for the next 3 weeks – so that is through to 15 May.

This is likely to affect repatriation flights due to arrive in Darwin, and scheduled flights to Sydney.

Flights from India that transit via Doha, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have already been suspended by those countries.

This action has been caused by the extraordinary rates of infection occuring in India at the moment – 323,144 today, and the recent community transmission within a quarantine hotel in Perth, and Premier Mark McGown’s blame shifting slightly hysterical reaction.

AID

Australia is also sending aid to india including ventilators, a million surgical masks, surgican glowns, goggles gloves and face shields. The Australian government will also assist with the procurement of a 100 oxygen concentrators.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.

This is unfortunate but probably necessary. Indian Australians attempting to return will be devastated, and who wouldn’t want to get out of India at the moment.

There really is a very good argument to fully use the Howard Springs facility outside Darwing, and to set up a facility to deal with a quarantine probem that doesn’t look like it is going away any time soon.