On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the domestic civil aviation operations will resume in a calibrated manner from May 25. The flights have been stopped since the first lockdown was enforced in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Puri added that all airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25. He said that the Ministry will issue a Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs) for the movement of passengers.

He tweeted, "Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020. All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May. SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by @MoCA_GoI."

Earlier, as a part of Vande Bharat Mission, thousands of stranded Indians in foreign countries amid the novel coronavirus pandemic are being repatriated back home.

Meanwhile, Lockdown 4.0 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come to an end on May 31.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 3,303 and the number of cases climbed to 1,06,750 in the country, registering an increase of 140 deaths and a record spike of 5,611 cases in the last 24 hours, said the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday morning.

Of the 3,303 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,325 deaths. Gujarat comes second with 719 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 258, West Bengal at 250, Delhi at 168, Rajasthan at 143, Uttar Pradesh at 123, Tamil Nadu at 84 and Andhra Pradesh at 52.

(With Inputs from Agencies)

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