Coronavirus: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted this photo of an airplane cabin
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has tweeted a photo of an airplane cabin with people in masks and protective covers on their face that could become a familiar sight in the months to come. The government has been bringing back Indians stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic in special flights.
"The times they are a changing! Not a scene from a sci-fi blockbuster but a picture of passengers with face shields onboard the Singapore-Mumbai flight which landed earlier today. Preventive measures are the new normal. Changes are here to stay," Mr Puri tweeted, echoing a line from Bob Dylan's famous song "The Times They Are a-Changin'".
The nature of travel has changed due to the pandemic, with nations enforcing lockdowns and asking people to practice social distancing.
A major US airline trade group on Saturday said it backed the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking the temperatures of passengers and customer-facing employees during the pandemic.
Airlines for America, which represents the largest US airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, said the checks "will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees".
But questions remain about what the US government would do if someone had a high temperature and was turned away from a flight, news agency AFP reported.
Over 1,500 Indians stranded abroad were repatriated on Sunday, the fourth day of a massive operation by the government that involves sending commercial passenger jets and Indian Navy warships to over a dozen countries.
Billed as India's largest peacetime repatriation exercise, the state-run carrier Air India is carrying out "Operation Vande Bharat" to bring some 15,000 people home on 64 flights.
Three Indian Navy ships have begun "Operation Samudra Setu" to bring home more Indians. Repatriation is taking place amid fear that those being brought back could contribute to the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The government has said that only people with no signs of infection will be allowed to return and that they will have to undergo 14-day quarantine on arrival. India has reported over 60,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 2,000 deaths so far.