The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has told the eight franchises that all teams and match officials will be booked on charter flights for domestic travel within India ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
On April 9th, the IPL 2021 season will commence. The first match of the tournament will pit Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The first two legs of the tournament will be held in Mumbai and Chennai, with the remaining four legs being held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.
The SoP also specifies the process that the airline and its cabin crew must follow. For domestic travel within India, charter flights will be booked for all teams and match officials in order to ensure the sanctity of bio-secure settings. COVID-19 RT-PCR testing for pilots and cabin crew are required 24 hours prior to departure and on the morning of departure. The BCCI-accredited agency will perform the testing. For 48 hours prior to the planned departure, the pilots and cabin crew will quarantine at the team hotel outside the bubble zone.
As per the SoP, boarding passes must be turned over to the team manager at the hotel one day prior to departure or no later than the morning of departure. In the cockpit, the cabin crew is required to wear a face mask, face shield, gloves, and a PPE suit. On the aircraft, only pre-packaged beverages and meals will be served.
Because the passengers are all part of a bio-secure environment, the airline must also help them in bypassing security clearance. This is to ensure that participants do not come into contact with other passengers or airport security staff.
All team members must wear a facemask that covers their nose and mouth, as well as gloves, before entering the airport terminal. Before boarding the plane, all gloves and face masks must be removed and discarded. Put on a new face mask before boarding the aircraft.