Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed the eight franchises that all teams and match officials will be booked on charter flights for domestic travel within the country.
IPL 2021 is set to be played from April 9. In the tournament opener, Mumbai Indians will be locking horns against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The first leg of the tournament will be played in Mumbai and Chennai, and then the cash-rich league will move on to the other four venues -- Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.
A document listing Standard Operating Procedure (SoPs) for the upcoming edition of the IPL has been accessed by and as per the 50-page document, the board has left no stone unturned to ensure the safety of everyone associated with the league. The SoP also lays down the procedure that needs to be followed by the airline and their cabin crew.
"In order to maintain the sanctity of bio-secure environments, charter flights will be booked for all the teams and match officials for domestic travel within India," states the SoP.
"Mandatory COVID-19 RT-PCR tests for the pilots and cabin crew 24 hours prior and on the morning of the scheduled departure. Testing will be conducted by the BCCI accredited agency. The pilots and cabin crew will quarantine at the team hotel outside the bubble zone for 48 hours before the scheduled departure," it adds.
The cabin crew has been directed to wear a face mask, face shield, gloves, and PPE suit in the aircraft. Only pre-packaged drinks and food will be served on the flight. Boarding passes must be handed over to the team manager at the hotel one day prior to departure or latest in the morning on the day of departure, as per the SoP.
The airline must also provide assistance in bypassing security clearance for the passengers as they are all part of a bio-secure Environment. This is to ensure that participants do not come in contact with other guests and security personnel inside the airport terminal.
All team members have been directed to wear a facemask covering their nose and mouth and gloves before entering the airport terminal. Gloves and face masks must be removed and disposed of before entering the aircraft. A fresh face mask to be worn before boarding the flight.
( With inputs from ANI )
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