TLI Staff
New Delhi: Amid growing fatigue among its staff working on off-shore rigs, oil and gas behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has approached Air India to ferry nearly 2,500 of its staff from various cities to Mumbai to replace the employees returning from the oil rigs.
The airline will fly those returning from the off-shore oil rigs to various cities. All the employees would be tested for Coronavirus before they embark on the flights.
“They are discussing about carrying 2,500-3,000 employees. Those working on the off-shore oil rigs have been there for more days than generally stipulated and a lot of fatigue has started setting in. ONGC is discussing the movement plan with Air India,” a person familiar with the development said.
The ONGC employees would be ferried following Home Ministry protocol. They would be required to wear mask, gloves and follow social distancing norms.
Instead of a 14-days shift, nearly 4,500 ONGC employees have been working on oil and gas fields in the Arabian Sea as well as fields and installations in the Bay of Bengal. As off-shore jobs are quite stressing, extended shift means a lot of exhaustion.
“I have been receiving messages from these brave employees saying they are happy to continue working on offshore fields as long as it is needed,” Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker had said earlier.
Miles away from the land, the off-shore oil rigs are considered potentially dangerous as they stand on steel structures almost 70-100 metres below the sea depth.
The ONGC employees could not return after their 14-days shift on these rigs as the government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25 which has since continued. As per the latest Home Ministry order, the lockdown would remain in force till May 17.
“The dates for operating the charter flights have not been decided as yet,” the person quoted above said.
Following the imposition of lockdown, all public transport including rail and air remain suspended. While there are expectations that domestic air transport could resume from June 1, the guidelines on sitting inside the flight is still awaited.
In order to maintain social distancing on board aircraft, aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAs) has proposed that when airlines resume services they must not sell the middle seat, and the last three rows should be kept vacant for quarantining a passenger suspected of Coronavirus.
Aviation industry sources have told Top Lead India that domestic airlines could be allowed to open forward ticket bookings from May 23-24.