As domestic flights restarted in India today after months of coronavirus-related closures, a five-year-old at Bengaluru airport carrying a “special category" placard made his way to his mother after three months on May 25.
Dressed in a yellow T-shirt with a matching mask and blue gloves, Vihaan Sharma travelled alone from Delhi to his mother who was waiting at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport. He travelled as a special category passenger.
"My five-year-old son Vihaan has travelled alone from Delhi, he has come back to Bengaluru after three months," his mother Manjeesh Sharma was quoted as saying.
Using their official Twitter account, Bengaluru airport, @BLRAirport, tweeted about Vihaan: "Welcome home, Vihaan! #BLRairport is constantly working towards enabling the safe return of all our passengers."
Domestic flights operated on Monday for the first time since the end of March, when the country went into lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Many Indians who were stuck domestically, away from their homes, are slowly making their way back, like Vihaan.
According to Indian media reports, he had gone to visit his grandparents in Delhi in February.
Talking about the resumption of flights at the airport, Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) was quoted as saying: “Today morning onwards, processes have been working very well. All processes have been made contactless. We are screening all passengers. All the surfaces are being sanitised every 20-30 minutes.”
The Indian government has also announced a series of dos and don'ts for passengers who are travelling, including social distancing at airports and no-contact check ins.
