Bengaluru: Children fly solo to return home

BENGALURU: Shiven Viral Desai, 9, loves adventures, but he never thought he would have to travel from one state to another by himself. He flew from Mumbai to Bengaluru on Tuesday, a day after domestic flights were restarted, reuniting with his parents.
In the past few days, many children who were stuck in other cities because of the lockdown have flown back to Bengaluru as “unaccompanied minors”.They had travelled during the summer vacation.
“If anybody like me is travelling alone, I want tell them that there’s no need to worry. You will be safe if you take all the precautions,” Shiven said. “Don’t touch anything, maintain a distance of 6 feet from everyone and use hand sanitisers before boarding and while leaving the aircraft. And never remove your mask.”
Shiven had travelled to Mumbai to visit his grandparents and couldn’t not return as flights were suspended. “I am glad to be back, though I am in home quarantine. I was feeling homesick in Mumbai,” he said.
Vivaan Sharma, 5, travelled from Delhi to Bengaluru without a guardian. He was among the first passengers to arrive at Kempegowda International Airport on the first day of post-lockdown flight operations. “I am so happy. I was missing my parents and home,” he said.
Vivaan’s father, Aakash Sharma, said despite some concerns, the family wanted to fly him back as soon as possible. “We wanted him to get on the first flight on Monday. We didn’t want to wait as we knew more and more people would gradually travel and that could be unsafe for him,” he said. “We were worried and up all night before the flight. We spoke to him constantly on video call till the flight took off. In the end, the journey was smooth.”
Vivaan’s story has instilled confidence in some parents whose children are stuck in other cities. Deepak Kumar has booked a Hyderabad-Bengaluru flight ticket for his six-year-old daughter. It is scheduled to arrive in the city around 9am on Friday.
“At first, I was really worried about her getting on a plane alone and was considering picking her up. Reading about Vivaan’s journey eased my concerns and I booked a ticket for my daughter,” said Deepak, who owns a garment business.
In such cases, airlines appoint an attender to accompany the child at all times, right from the airport kerb to when the child is safely in the custody of the guardian.