New Delhi: In view of the rising outbreak of Coronavirus epidemic, the lockdown in the country has been extended till May 3, but the possibility of starting rail and air services even after May 3 seems unlikely. In the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM), led by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, it was said that the final decision will be taken only on the advice of the Health Ministry. The GoM is not in support of starting passenger trains. At the same time, strict adherence to social distancing is not possible in railway trains.

With this, Air India and other private airlines have been told not to book after May 3. All trains are closed in the country due to the lockdown being implemented till 3 May. But even after the lockdown is over, the government is not in a mood to give relief. The GOM believes that it will not be possible to strictly follow social distancing in trains on running trains after lockdown. An official said that in the meeting it was agreed that the train service should not be started immediately after the lockdown.

Air India announced on Saturday that it has opened bookings for select domestic and international routes from May 4 and June 1, respectively. On this, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that the government has not yet taken any decision on starting flight operations. So airlines are instructed to start booking tickets only after the government decides on restoring domestic and international passenger flight services.

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