India was slightly later than other countries to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since around March 31st, confirmed cases of infection have been skyrocketing. As the second-most populous country in the world with incredibly dense cities, India is in for a big fight. That's why India's domestic passenger flights have been grounded since March 25th. Taking to social media, Indian carriers are uniting to get the word out on the importance of these groundings.
The viral Twitter exchange
It started earlier today when Indigo put out the tweet below:
What followed was a cute exchange of Twitter posts between a number of Indian carriers and Indian airports. The best way to view them is all at once - so we've taken a screenshot of the majority of posts:
Widespread participation
It seems like almost every Indian carrier took part in this exchange of tweets. Here are the groups we identified:
- Budget airline IndiGo
- Full-service carrier Vistara
- Budget airline GoAir
- AirAsia India, another budget carrier
- SpiceJet, another budget carrier
- Delhi Airport, India's busiest airport
- Bengaluru Airport, India's third-busiest airport
Aside from other major Indian airports, obviously missing from this list was India's flag carrier, Air India. However, this seems to be a somewhat spontaneous and certainly voluntary happening.
On the more amusing side, an individual rebranded their own Twitter account to appear as Jet Airways and joined in on the conversation. Their included hashtag was #ForeverParkedForeverSafe.
#StayingParkedStayingSafe
Aside from the beautiful solidarity and camaraderie exemplified in the exchange of tweets, the message of 'staying at home' was the big takeaway. To put it in the words of the airlines, staying parked means staying safe.
We already know that air travel has been one of the key factors in the spread of this virus, and therefore airlines and their participation, or lack thereof, will have a major impact on how this pandemic progresses.
It could be easy enough for any of these airlines to complain about the fact that they are losing millions in revenue every day. However, it's great to see that the aviation industry in India can enthusiastically support the very policy that will bring them large amounts of hardship.
Conclusion
Of things that can and should go viral, this Twitter exchange should certainly be one of them. Under normal circumstances, these airlines would be competing against each other for valuable market share in the booming Indian travel sector.
However, now more than ever, this kind of unity is needed. Hopefully, we can see more of this solidarity amongst other groups and companies.
What do you think about this exchange of Twitter posts? Is it heartwarming or cheesy? Let us know what you think in the comments!