After the
initial scare of medical emergency in the family, we finally decided to travel
to India. We were not sure what to expect. As everyone, we had heard lock-down
stories and were following news. There was a lot of confusion. Nonetheless we
had to travel, and we decided to take the bold step, considering all the risks.
We are now
safely in the lock-down facility (A 3-star hotel in Navi Mumbai). I am writing
this to help someone decide whether they should travel or not. The intention is
to let someone, in need, know what to expect. Although, I understand that the
travelling experience is likely to be different for different people, my
attempt here will be to share objective information, as much as possible. The overall experience was, except on few
occasions, quite good! Yes, there were some places where we felt management
could have been better, but those were minor instances, and we still feel the
effort Indian/Maharashtra government and Air India has put in are applaudable.
If you are
not interested in my story , you can jump directly at the end where I have
mentioned few precautions to take while you travel internationally.
If you want
to read the story, here are the details.
Flight Booking
Although we got the flight we wanted, we had to
go through a lot of trouble during this initial phase. The AI website in not noticeably
clear in instructing how to book flights. You first must fill the declaration,
which states that you are ready to get quarantined, will cooperate with local authority,
and pay for your quarantine. This is not an issue. The real trouble, however,
is after you fill in the form, there is no instruction on the website to get
booking done. We wasted a lot of hours trying to figure out how to proceed further.
You will get a small button on the website, at the bottom of the screen, after
the declaration is ‘signed’, which takes you to booking section. After we figured
that out, another shock was that the website was showing no flights available.
When we call customer care, and waited for 30 minutes to connect, we were told
that all the flights have been booked already! We could tell that something was
wrong as we were trying from the opening window. Nonetheless after an hour
miraculously flights started appearing with some availability. Not sure how
this happens, but I guess they do not make all the flights available from the
beginning to avoid chaos.
The website is also very unstable. At one time
we booked and paid for the ticket, yet it did not complete the transaction. We
had to re-book the flight again. Later we found out that there was a double
deduction from the bank account, and when we called the customer care, they
mentioned that we will be fully refunded for the second deduction. Huhhh. Though
we have not yet received the refund, I do not think it is a cause of worry as
the agent has assured that the refund will be full and will happen in 2-3
weeks.
After all this drama we finally got the flight
we wanted but were a bit scared given the booking experience. Thankfully, the
worst was over.
The Journey
The journey
to the airport was relatively smooth. We took all the precaution with gloves,
masks, sanitizers etc.
At the
airport, they maintained social distancing well enough! We had to submit the
declaration forms at the bag drop. Air India (AI) helped by giving us seats in
the same row although we could not get those during web check in. Kudos to AI
on that! They checked temperature during boarding the plane and at the Mumbai
airport as well. Those in the middle row were given extra protective gears. In
the flights all the attendants were fully covered in suits, which looked a bit
like sci-fi movie. All the kits, including food, masks, sanitizers, face
shields were kept at the seats. There was food/dinner apart from this and attendant
calling was requested to be kept at minimum. No in-flight entertainment ☹ the flight was about 50% full. There was
sanitizers kept at all the washrooms. The journey was comfortable.
The Landing
When we
landed, as I mentioned previously, again there was a temperature check. The Arogya-Setu
app was requested to be downloaded and we are required to have a local sim to
make app working. The local sims were available (Jio and Airtel) of course they
were available at the airport premium price. We were later told that you can get away
without downloading the app, in case there are any technical issues. This was a
big letdown. I feel government should make it compulsory without any exceptions.
Quarantine
After the
baggage claim, we were told about our quarantine center. Though we could have
got the exception to hotel quarantine, as we were travelling with a kid below
10 years, we chose to quarantine as there are elderly parents at home plus it
is generally better to be 100% sure that you do not carry virus in the country.
It is a 7
days quarantine in a 3 star hotel in Navi-Mumbai. There are about 14 people in
the same hotel from the same flight. The centers are available for different
locations such as Thane, Palghar,
Mumbai, Pune, Satara, Sangli, and Solapur etc. Though we are from Thane, we were
given Navi Mumbai hotel. There are no choices to choose hotel from. You must go
to the quarantine location allotted to you. Although the hotel is reasonably
good. We were sent to hotel by bus and were charged Rs. 500.
Finally, at
the hotel, they immediately sanitized our luggage as soon as we arrived. Social
distancing is maintained. We are being charged Rs.3400 per night, which
includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. The room is okayish. Temperature is taken
twice a day. We are informed that on 7th day COVID test will be done
and we will be released, if all okay. Touch-wood.
Few precautions to take
while you travel internationally
1. Carry hand sanitizers, masks, face
shields etc
2. Be organized. Maintain social
distancing at all points.
3. Carry your own entertainment. Flights
may not have entertainment systems.
4. Carry your own food. Flights may not
provide food for you to sustain long duration.
5. Carry enough money (cards as well as
cash) and finally,
6. Take care at all times!
