I have just returned from a Quick 8 day  trip to the  US ( New York)

The purpose of this blog is to share the processes and procedures for staff travel  as it may be useful to all my colleagues who may intend to travel  on SOL basis  due to an impending emergency and/or unavoidable reasons

PLEASE NOTE  THAT THE PANDEMIC SITUATION IS DYNAMIC AND THE REGULATIONS KEEP CHANGING..WHAT I EXPERIENCED WAS  THE RULES PREVAILING BETWEEN 11 AND 18NOV

While these are the general guidelines ,it will be advisable to check the government websites for the latest HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

DELHI

a)      Please list yourself  on the flight you propose to take

b)      Take a printout/email showing the flight you wish to travel on

c)       At the airport entry is allowed on the basis of the printout/mobile application

d)      The staff are required to contact the LAST counter in aisle F or G for check in

e)      Please check the aisle where AI flights are being checked in and  go to the correct counter

f)       For those entitled to UGJ, the same is done at the gate approximately one hour before departure

g)      It is advisable to go at least  2 hours earlier to avoid delays

h)      Remember the AI flight gates are quite far and it may take up to 10/15 minutes to get there after security

i)        Please remember the flights are handled by AI SATS at DELHi and other designated Handling agents at the respective airports. Generally no AI staff is available

j)        Handling agents are particular about weight restrictions even for Hand baggage(7 kgs)

The departure of my flight AI 101/11 Nov was 0155..I was at the airport by 11.30

The entry into the airport was smooth, no lines .no health checks, except a temperature check

Since I had UGJ   I went to the Business class counter. I was directed to the Staff Counter which is the last counter

I was checked in and the staff asked me to weigh the Hand baggage.. It was 9 kgs.. She asked me to remove some items and keep it in the checked baggage which was under weight. I explained to her that it had woolens which I will wear later on ..She agreed..

The security check  was smooth ..The walk from the security to the departure gate was app 12 to 15 minutes as it is the last gate

After a further scrutiny of my documents by the AI Security  and security frisking I reached the boarding gate at about 12.15..

I contacted the AI counter and was relieved to find that I had been upgraded to business class.

The seat numers were changed on the old economy card and he baggage tags removed and given to me

Prior to boarding we were given masks with instructions to have them on through out the flight

On Board/Inflight DEL JFK

 

Once on board.we were directed to our seats with specific instructions to keep the masks on.

This was  a brand new aircraft with a  2 2 2 configuration in business class instead of the regular 2 3 2 configuration. The total number  of seats were 36 with NO block for crew thereby making the business class availability more by 9 seats

Each seat had a packed box of food and a bottle of water.

The goodies box consisted of a juice, pattie(vegetarian, muffin(hard and stale),water bottle energy bar, tomato sauce and a trash bag

Repeated announcements were made to keep the empty/trash in the trash bag provided for collection by the crew subsequently

The crew wore PPE kit throughout the flight with minimum interaction with the passengers

There was no service of tea and coffee but one could go the galley and ask for it. The same was served by the crew. Regrettably, despite abundant stock of cashew  nuts and almonds, nothing was offered to the passengers..(sad)

Four hors prior to landing a HOT Meal service consisting of VEG/NV (Chicken) Biryani was served with another packed box almost similar to the one given on departure. The Hot meal consisted of Yoghurt and paratha

Tea, coffee was offered

All passengers were given Health Declaration forms to be completed 

Though the inflight entertainment was working there were no new movies

The flight was smooth with hardly any turbulence

We landed at JFK  20 minutes ahead of schedule

 

 

ARRIVAL  JFK

 

There was no rush at Immigration .Social distancing/Masks  was implemented  by the immigration officials

No one asked for the Health Declaration form ,nor did I handover my form to them. There was no fingerprinting done as per the usual practice

After routine questions at immigration, picked up my bags, took a cab to the hotel

The hotel already had my reservation and did not ask for any Health declaration or covid report though I had one with me

The Restaurants in the hotel  were closed  and the breakfast was given out in boxes

It was sumptuous and consisted of cereal, Sandwich ,waffles ,eggs juice, muffin yoghurt ,energy bar etc.

The tea and coffee were readily available through self service

About 6 microwaves were there for warming your food

The Housekeeping services were done once in 3 days  though bathrooms were cleaned everyday

Only 20 to 25 % of the shops were open

The Restaurants could only accept 50% of the seating capacity and checked the tempearture of all the guests

It was advisable to make a reservation prior to going to a Restaurant

We returned after 7 days

 

JFK DEL ..Check in at JFK

The check was smooth. One has to fill out a form prior to check in ,indemnifying AI against deportation and confirming that you were not having fever etc.

The security was smooth and we were upgraded at the boarding gate

All passengers were given face shields and those seated in the centre row were given PPE Kit to be worn on the flight

The inflight service was similar to outgoing with hardly any variation

ARRIVAL DELHI AIRPORT

The flight landed 25 minutes earlier

As per the Ministry of home Affairs all incoming International Passengers have to get a COVID Test done 72 hours prior to arrival. The same has to be either loaded on the delhi airport portal or brought with you

 

There are 3 categories of passengers for Health Clearance

a)      Those who have loaded it on the Airports portal and received an OK. .The clearance is smooth as no other verification is required

b)      Those who have brought the report with them…One has to go through 3 checkpoints for verification/counter verification before being cleared.The process is smooth and  the time taken varies with the rush.I took 15 minutes

c)       Those who don’t have a report…They can get it done at a cost of rs 5000 Per person and it takes about 4/5 hours for the report to come

 

 

I understand that on arrival the Taxis are available only  to those who have pre booked the same on the app of the taxi

Overall a nice quick trip

Stay Safe ,Stay Healthy and Stay Fit