Repatriation to Hyderabad 2
This article has information I may have missed in my
previous post Repatriation to Hyderabad.
I traveled to Hyderabad, India from Johannesburg, South
Africa on a repatriation charter flight organised by the India Club in Johannesburg
On the Day Travel
All passengers will be asked to assemble at a designated location,
where you will register. You will each be assigned to a bus and the bus number
will be communicated to you before the day of travel. In the bus you may be
provided with masks, gloves, sanitisers and lunch. You may also be given a Govt. of India form, please ask for three such forms per person as you will need to submit these at your destination airport.
At O R Tambo International Airport
When your bus reaches the airport, you will each be given a
Department of Home Affairs (DHA), South Africa, form to fill, before you get off the
bus. All your luggage will the be lined up outside the airport and you will be asked
to locate your luggage and leave your cabin bags near your luggage. Sniffer
dogs will go around all the bags and let their handlers know if any bag smells
funny. This process can take anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes.
Inside the Airport
After your bags are screened by very efficient German
Shepherd dogs, you can load your bags on to a trolley and enter the airport. Once
inside, you will submit the DHA form to an airport staff member who will also check
your temperature.
From here you go towards the check-in counters, where you
will be issued your boarding pass. There are no separate lines for business and
economy classes, but enough number of counters are open to quicken the process.
Once checked-in, you go through security and immigration.
All you have to do now is wait for your flight to start boarding. There is only
one coffee shop open inside the airport, which also sells snacks such as chips,
chocolates, sandwiches and so on. No other store is open at the airport and lounges
cannot be accessed. While waiting for your flight, make sure you maintain
social distancing as you may not be able to do so in the flight.
When Flying
Bring your own entertainment. The entertainment systems on
repatriation flights do not work, so make sure you bring your own entertainment
for yourself and your children.
The cabin crew is helpful so make sure you cooperate with
them. Meals will be served, and the same meals are served to both business and
economy classes, so please don’t expect a gourmet meal.
If your flight stops during the journey, you may not need to
get off and change planes. However, there will be a change in cabin crew and
pilots. Lavatories are also sanitised and deep cleaned at these stopovers.
To find out what to expect at Hyderabad airport, read my
previous article Repatriation to Hyderabad.
Quarantine
I booked my quarantine at Lemon Tree, Banjara Hills, through Satguru Travels
and would advise you to avoid doing that. You will be given less expensive and better-quality
options at Hyderabad airport.
Quarantine at Lemon Tree, Banjara Hills
Although Lemon Tree in Banjara Hills maybe a 4-star hotel on
paper, the quality is 2 star. Rooms are not sanitised, but the staff claim they
have been sanitised. Watch the video below to understand what I mean when I say
the rooms are not sanitised.
A bit more about this hotel
- Meals are cooked and packed at Hitech City so they will always arrive cold, and there is no chance of getting your food warmed
- The people who deliver your meals do not always wear masks, gloves or PPE
- Hot water is only available at designated hours and not all day
- Their drinking water supplier is Patanjali so if you mistrust this brand, you’re stuck with this water
Quarantine at Marriott Bonvoy, Tank Bund
After spending one night at Lemon Tree, I checked out and
Telangana Tourism officials moved me to the Marriott at Tank Bund. I have stayed
here for 5 days so far and have no complaints. Here are a few highlights:
- Someone is sanitising the common areas always, you see this as soon as you enter the reception
- Sanitisers are placed everywhere and staff santise their hands often
- My room is spotless clean, without a speck of dust
- Meals come on time and are served hot, they are also delicious
- Staff who bring you your meals wear PPE, so you and they are safe
- Telangana health officials call almost everyday to ask if you have any symptoms and they also do a temperature check in person every alternate day
- There is such a great view of the Hussain Sagar lake that you can make out its heart shape
I hope this information is helpful as you prepare to travel
home. Good luck!
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