Sharing the details of my repatriation flight back home from Melbourne to Cochin on 25th May.
(Using mobile to write so pardon typos and autocorrect if I have failed to rectify)
Booked an Uber for the morning of the flight for 3.30 AM and planned to reach the airport by around 4.15 AM for the 8.45 AM flight. The guidelines from HCI said that the check-in will start around 5 hours before the flight departure and will end around 90 minutes before the departure. I could barely sleep a wink the previous night, partly because of excitement of finally going back home and partly fear that I will miss my Uber or the flight.
I got up at 3 AM and got ready. Promptly at 3.30 AM, the Uber came. I wore a 3 ply mask, gloves and had a travel bottle of sanitizer in my pocket for quick access. The driver did offer to help me in putting my suitcase in the boot but I refused. Keeping Minimum contact. I reached the airport at around 4.10 AM. The ride was uneventful as the roads were empty and there were only 5 flights scheduled from Melbourne airport that day. And only one flight in the morning.
Once I reached terminal 2, I saw a long queue of people inside.
I joined the serpentine queue and waited for it to move forward. Some of these people had travelled from Sydney and Brisbane and other places and had reached the airport the previous night itself. There was a weighing machine and I found my suitcase was 32 kg. Ouch! The limit was 30 kg. Nothing I could do now. Hopefully they will let me off without a high additional baggage fee.
The queue moved slowly. I was in the queue for almost an hour. Majority of the group were senior citizens. I presume most of them came to visit their families in Melbourne and then got stuck here.
There were officials from the High Commission and also a reported from SBS.
At the end of the line, there were two doctors who were taking the temperature and asking questions on symptoms. We have to submit the Indemnity Bond form and another Symptom check form to them. They asked questions on if we have any of the symptoms or were in contact with any positive patients, check out temperature and then we can proceed for check-in. Apart from the thermal check, I don’t imagine anyone saying they had symptoms even if they have. In this situation, expecting that level of honesty (which can potentially risk your entry to the flight) from people is a little too much. I was a little anxious even when the temperature check was being done. What if I suddenly got a fever? What if something else happens? But all went well and I proceeded for check-in.
The suitcase was 32 kg but thankfully the lady at the counter didn’t say anything. Maybe 10% tolerance is ok. Though I did see another gentlemen being asked to keep his additional baggage in carry-on luggage as the total weight was around 34 kg. The boarding pass was given in about 2 minutes. Pretty quick! I also saw another gentlemen saying he didn’t get to choose the seat. Well I was just grateful to be able to travel and any seat was ok for me. Looking at the crowd, I understood there is no social distance sitting. The plane was going to be jam packed.
Check-in got over around 6 AM and I had a good an hour and half before the boarding started. There were limited seats to sit around and hence social distancing was already down the drain. I changed my gloves and mask and then went to have a coffee in one of the shops which just opened.
At around 7.30 AM, the gate to proceed to security opened and everyone rushed to queue there again. The process was simple and automated and no contact. Neat. Even at the security check, all were asked to continue maintain the social distance which was getting shorter as people were getting bored and impatient. One gentlemen kept bumping me from behind to move forward as there was 5-6 feet distance between me and the person in front. The security check was also fast. All liquids out (as everyone had at least one bottle of sanitizer. I had two!). Surprisingly we were not asked to take the laptop out of bag. Once security check was done, I proceeded to Immigration. Again, this is automatic. First, I scan my passport and the first gate opens. Then they take picture. We are asked to remove the mask for this. Then I went through a small passage to the Gate. They had barricaded almost all the paths so that no one goes anywhere they are no supposed to go. There was one café open near the Gate and many people ordered food and drinks to go.
That's the airplane getting ready for boarding.
Again, limited seats and social distance getting smaller near the gate. We were called for boarding at around 8 AM. After the boarding pass was scanned, all passengers were given a kit with 2 masks, a face shield and around 10 pouches of sanitizer.
I reached my seat and found a white cover with food prepacked and 2 half litre bottles of water.
The food cover had 2 packets, one for breakfast and one for lunch and a snack packet with assorted snacks. I would strongly recommend everyone to buy additional food for the flight from outside.
Once settled in the seats, the air-hostess did the final checks and the plane finally took off. The seats were full and no empty seats were there. Maybe just 4-5 overall. The total duration of flight to Delhi was around 12 – 12.5 hours. There was no in-flight entertainment and no additional food. We have to wear the mask and face shield throughout the flight. It does get a bit suffocating and irritating after couple of hours.
And of course you would need to uncover your face while eating. I would think all senior citizens would have had a tough time sitting so long in one place. We are not supposed to stand or walk the aisle or crowd around the toilet. Though it may seem inhuman for some, but I feel this is the only way to ensure there is no spread and to maintain social distance wherever possible. A 12-hour flight is not an easy journey.
We reached Delhi around 4.30 PM IST. After landing we were asked to sit in our seat as the same flight will continue to Kochi. I saw many people stretching their legs and opening their bags. One gentlemen even thought that we reached Kochi and was planning to disembark! I could get reception on my phone and I informed my family on my safe landing in Delhi. The network was patchy and after sometime I switched it off to conserve the battery. The charger on my seat was not working.
There was halt of almost 2.5 hours in Delhi. The crew changed and a new team came in. The flight took off around 7.20 PM and the flight duration was 2 hr 35 min. There were no additional food packets for dinner. Thankfully the bread and cookies I bought along, helped me.
The plane landed in Kochi around 10 PM. All of us were asked to sit in our places and they started calling people in batches of 30. So we waited for around 5-10 minutes and then my row was called. When we got out of the plane, one person gave sanitizer. All the people in the airport has full PPE on and maintained the crowd and social distance very professionally. We continued to the first health check-up point. The whole setup was highly organized and very efficient.
We were given forms to be filled in the plane itself and only those who filled it fully were asked to queue for the check-up (maintaining 1 m distance of course). Only the Thermal screening was done and then proceeded to the immigration counter. I was amazed by the number of staff available at that time though there were so few flights. The immigration was also swift and within minutes I reached the baggage claim area.
The bags took their own sweet time to come. I met someone who was also travelling to the same quarantine hotel that I was going to and we decided to share the taxi. In Kochi the airport taxis have been modified to break the chain. There is complete partitioning between the front and back seats to prevent the spread.
Once I collected my bags, I proceeded to the exit. There were some personnel from Health department who checks the forms, asks where we want to go. There are 2 options – KSRTC bus or pre-paid taxi. Since I had already booked for paid quarantine and got the voucher from my district covid19 centre (the hotel contact helped me in this), I booked for pre-paid taxi. All the details are being noted down by the officials including the phone number and details of the taxi driver. Impressive tracking! The details go to the health department, collector’s office and police and maybe a bunch of other departments as well.
Once all details were noted down I could finally get into the taxi and go to my hotel. Bye bye Cochin International airport.
Small yet significant points for flights from Australia
- Carry extra food. It's a long flight and you will need it
- No pillows or blankets provided. Carry them in case you need it
- The flight is really long and tiring. Be prepared for that
- Sometimes people will treat you as untouchables, keeping distance. They are doing their job and are afraid. We need to respect their commitment and understand their fear. Don't take it personally
- Every district in Kerala has published list of hotels. Please call them up and understand the process and book one. If you are planning planning to go to govt quarantine, lower your expectations as they are being provided on minimal rates and don't expect the govt to babysit you.
- Finally a big thanks to Govt of India, High Commission Canberra, Air India and Govt of Kerala for making all these possible.
Next step - the 14 day quarantine.
UPDATE:
Different people have different experience. Though I was lucky and didn't face much issues few elderly travelers in the same flight were not that lucky. The negative part as experienced by fellow travelers on the same flight (sharing with permission) and tips
Following points will be helpful for people considering to get their elderly loved ones on AI repatriation flights to COK. (or anywhere else in India)
This is based on first hand experience, my mother 74 was on AI309, 25/05/20
1. Please try and arrange a travelling companion who is younger and able to negotiate the maze ahead. You will meet amazing co-travellers at the departures who will be ready and willing to help.
2. Provide them a fully charged power bank for charging mobile and make they know how to use it. It is possible that they will have a flat battery after over 24 - 30 hours of travel.
3. Please train them how to turn the mobile on and off. For some people the local Indian sim did not latch onto the network after landing, sometimes switching the phone off and on works. Also ensure data is turned on.
4. If they have been overseas for over a year (depending on the carrier) the SIM card may become inactive. Please check before leaving Australia and ensure it’s active.
5. Consider using an Australian sim with roaming until they get home. You can a better chance of contacting them.
6. Wheelchair assistance is not guaranteed at COK. They left my mom on her wheelchair at the first opportunity and disappeared. She had to walk most of the way which she found very difficult. Most ground staff are too scared even to approach the travellers let alone assist at close quarters.
7. It’s unlikely anyone will help with luggage, the younger travel companion will come handy. This happened in my moms case. So please travel light!
8. Your parent may not be able to get close to any ground staff to discuss or ask for help, they just shoo you away like you are a contagion. If they are hard of hearing then good luck! My mom said police were beating lathis on the ground shooing away travellers.
9. Expect rules to change anytime. When my mother boarded at Mel, we were told that she could do home quarantine as she was over 70. This was confirmed with Disha helpline. That was the reason she chose to go. Rule changed literally overnight whilst she was on the plane. At the airport she was told to go for institutional quarantine! She felt light headed due to stress on hearing that, the staff said if she keeps complaining they will send her to a COVID hospital! Not sure what that means, needless to say she was totally shocked and became even more stressed.
10. Please write down important contact numbers on a paper for them. Mobile phone directories will not be of much use when the phone is flat.
11. Be careful of water intake, depending on the road travel duration, they may not have a toilet break for a long time. The bus to Kannur went via Kozhikode and Waynad and took over 14 hours of travel.
This is not to discourage anyone from considering the repatriation option or blaming the system, but to help people, especially our elderly loved ones be better prepared.
Later on, the doctor at the quarantine facility was understanding and released my mom for home quarantine due to her condition and the fact that she had a whole house to herself for home quarantine. My brother had to sign his life away as a guarantor that she will comply with the quarantine requirements.