Over 1 crore domestic passengers, India moving towards pre-COVID levels, says Hardeep Singh Puri

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Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Civil Aviation (Independent Charge), said that India’s domestic air passenger numbers are “moving towards” pre-COVID-19 levels, adding that more than one crore passengers travelled on 108,210 flights since domestic operations resumed.

In a tweet on September 25, Puri said: “More than one crore passengers on 108,210 flights since recommencement of domestic operations on May 25. Moving towards Pre-COVID figures. Congratulations to all stakeholders on achieving this milestone! We continue our journey towards creating an #AatmaNirbharBharat.” (sic)

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More than One Crore passengers on 1,08,210 flights since recommencement of domestic operations on 25 May 2020.
Moving towards Pre-COVID figures.

Congratulations to all stakeholders on achieving this milestone!

We continue our journey towards creating an #AatmaNirbharBharat. pic.twitter.com/jOCJDvCeK8

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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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— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) September 25, 2020

All passenger flights in India – domestic and international were suspended on March 25, when the country went under lockdown to help curb the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, domestic flights have resumed in a controlled manner from May 25, while international flights have been restricted to repatriation flights and select air bubble destinations.

In another tweet on the same day, Puri noted that the government has facilitated repatriation and outbound travel of nearly 18 lakh citizens via the Vande Bharat Mission.

Follow our full COVID-19 coverage here