Union Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri Saturday said he does not understand the need to quarantine domestic air passengers once flight operations start from Monday if they have downloaded the Government’s contract-tracing app Aarogya Setu and the status on it shows “Green”.

The statement comes as the governments of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Assam, and the administration of Jammu and Kashmir have decided that arriving passengers will have to stay in quarantine despite the Centre advising it.

Lauding the efficiency of the app, he said: “Arogya Setu app is something I would suggest to everyone as it is an excellent contact-tracing app. There is nothing comparable to this app.”

“If you have taken a test and your test report is negative, following you don’t have any symptoms, so I believe there should be no need for quarantine. The Arogya Setu app is like a passport. If your status on the app is ‘Green’, why should anyone want any quarantine,” Puri wondered.

The aviation minister further said that the government is doing its best to add more flights.

“There’s no contradiction between domestic flights beginning from May 25 and lockdown in India being imposed till May 31,” he said and added that the Government will try to start a good percentage of international passenger flights before August.

Puri further said that if the virus gets under control, the international flights could resume as early as mid June.

“Why wait till August-September? If situation eases or improves… if virus behaves in a predictable manner, and we get used to idea of being able to co-exist with it and are in a position to make arrangements, why not start by June middle or end July?”

The minister also assured of arrangements for people to reach the airports.

Domestic flights will recommence in “calibrated manner” from May 25, two months after commercial airlines ceased operations in view of the Coronavirus pandemic.

SOPs for passenger movement have also been separately issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

A self-declaration form or Aarogya Setu App status is a must for air travel. Passengers with “Red” status on the app are not allowed to travel. No traveller from containment zones would be allowed. Further, it is mandatory for passengers to wear protective gear i.e. a mask.

Besides the safety measures, the domestic passenger flight services will also have a fixed minimum and maximum fare structure for different routes.

Under the new fare structure, air routes have divided into seven sections based on travel time. Each such section has its minimum and maximum fare.

As per the details, the seven price bands are based on the duration of the flights with ‘A’ being the shortest and ‘G’ being the longest. The price bands have been instituted for three months, from May 25 to August 24.

Based on the circular, sector ‘A’ has routes with travel time of less than 40 minutes; the airlines will offer tickets in the band of Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,000 for such flights. This sector includes routes such as Delhi-Chandigarh, Jammu-Srinagar and Patna-Ranchi, among others.

Similarly, sector ‘B’ has flights with duration of more than 40 minutes up to 60 minutes. Flights under this sector include Delhi-Bhopal and Delhi-Lucknow, among others, and tickets for these flights will be priced from Rs 2,500 to Rs 7,500.

Subsequently, sector ‘C’ has a price band of Rs 3,000 to Rs 9,000, whereas sector ‘D’ flight tickets will be priced from Rs 3, 500 to Rs 10,000. Sector ‘D’ includes routes like Delhi-Mumbai, among others.

Sector ‘E’ has a price band of Rs 4,500 Rs 13,000, while sector ‘F’ tickets will cost between Rs 5,500 and Rs 15,700.

For the longest duration segment ‘G’, tickets will cost between Rs 6,500 and Rs 18,600. This sector includes routes like Delhi-Port Blair.

As per the guidelines, “vulnerable” persons, such as very elderly, pregnant ladies and passengers with health issues have been advised to avoid travel during the period.

However, there is no information yet on international airline operations.