“I spoke to the Minister of Aviation (Hardeep Singh Puri) and I understand the need to start the flight, but we need more time to prepare,” Uddhav Thackeray said addressing the people of the state.
Now, the state will continue to operate special flights, emergency treatment, including international transfer passengers for students, and others will be kind and groomed.
The next 15 days will be crucial, CM said. “We expect more people to move and more cases. So we can only open things gradually. We are not raising the lockdown now. We cannot say that the lockdown will end by May 31.
The resumption of domestic flights announced by the Center earlier this week has been uncertain, as Maharashtra is not ready to go with the central plan. While the states cannot veto the center’s plan to hold open aviation, they can prevent passengers from flying.
Apart from Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu – the busiest Kolkata and Chennai airports – have opposed the Center’s plan to resume travel flights from today.
Tamil Nadu, with the second largest number of cases, has raised similar concerns in Maharashtra. Bengal has been seeking relief since May 30, when it was hit by Hurricane Amphan.
“When Maharashtra takes the lockdown, it will be done in a phased manner,” Thackeray said. “We are gradually opening up the economy … We need to stop the virus first. The packages will be announced later, ”he said, addressing his predecessor, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, on why the state has not announced the packages.