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Coronavirus pandemic: GoAir offers to fly migrants back home

SpiceJet has also offered to do the same

March 28, 2020 / 06:10 PM IST
 
 
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GoAir has offered to fly migrant workers, thousands of whom have been moving out from cities on foot and cycles, to get back home.

"GoAir stands with the nation and has offered its assistance to the Government in whatever way is useful, including helping our fellow Indian migrant workers get home, as we navigate this unprecedented crisis together," the airline said on Twitter. 

SpiceJet has also offered services of its aircraft and crew members to the government for any humanitarian mission during the 21-day lockdown and the airline is ready to operate some flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Patna to alleviate the suffering of migrant workers, especially those from Bihar, its CMD Ajay Singh said on March 28.

"The plight of the migrant workers walking hundreds of miles home with families and little ones is heart-wrenching. We @goairlinesindia are ready to operate special flights to get them closer to home, and have offered our services to the government for this," Sanjiv Kapoor, who recently was appointed as an advisor at GoAir, added from his Twitter handle.

Following the 21-day lockdown to counter COVID-19, thousands of migrant workers started moving out of cities, citing lack of food and basic amenities. But with bus or train transport unavailable, they have been forced to go back home on foot, or in cycles and rickshaws.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

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The airlines have also suspended their flights till April 14, because of the lockdown. But have offered to ferry people and material for relief measures.

Earlier, IndiGo had told the Civil Aviation Ministry that its aircraft and crew are available to transport medicine, equipment and relief material.

Moneycontrol News
first published: Mar 28, 2020 01:59 pm

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