US military asked to house migrant minors
Washington, June 22 : The Pentagon has been asked to supply up to 20,000 beds at old military bases for migrant children held after illegally entering the US.
Beds will be for migrant children who crossed the border unaccompanied, as well as those separated from parents, BBC reported on Friday.
The moves follow President Donald Trump's reversal of the controversial separation policy.
First Lady Melania Trump visited a facility for migrant children in Texas saying she wanted to reunite families.
But her visit to the facility for young migrants was thrown into controversy after she was photographed wearing a jacket with the words "I really don't care do u?" as she boarded the plane to Texas.
Plans for accommodating migrant children at military bases first came to light in May. Emails seen by US media revealed the bases would house minors who have crossed into the US without an adult relative as well as those who have been separated from their parents at the border.
President Trump says he has directed agencies to begin reuniting children and parents separated after entering the US illegally.
At least 2,300 children have been taken from their parents since 5 May after entering the country without documentation at the US-Mexico border.
While the adults are held in custody pending court appearances, the children are being sent to holding cells, converted warehouses and desert tents under the "zero tolerance" policy introduced in April.
Officials have also gone to court to try to lengthen the time children can be held as parents are prosecuted.
A vote on a Republican bill on immigration has been postponed until at least Friday as it does not have enough support in the House of Representatives.
Trump had said that only Congress could resolve the issue of separated families but on Wednesday he signed an executive order to keep children with their families but in detention.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Domestic air passenger traffic hits single-day record of 5.05 lakh on Nov 17
New Delhi (PTI): Marking a new record, domestic air passenger traffic crossed 5 lakh for the first time in a single day on Sunday, reflecting strong travel demand amid festive and wedding seasons.
Airlines carried 5,05,412 passengers on Sunday (November 17) and the number of flight departures was at 3,173, according to the latest data from the civil aviation ministry.
It was the first time that domestic air passenger traffic crossed the 5 lakh-mark in a single day.
"Domestic travel has witnessed strong demand during the festive season. Daily flown pax crossed 5 lakh on 17th Nov.
"The high pax movement is largely backed by robust festive demand and the start of the wedding season. We expect strong demand to continue in the winter season," Gaurav Patwari, Vice President - Air Category - at travel portal Cleartrip, said.
The occupancy of flights operated by the main scheduled carriers on Sunday were above 90 per cent.
However, On Time Performance (OTP) of the airlines have been impacted in recent days due to various factors.
On Sunday, the OTP of IndiGo was at 74.2 per cent, followed by Alliance Air at 71 per cent and Akasa Air at 67.6 per cent. Among other airlines, SpiceJet and Air India's OTP stood at 66.1 per cent and 57.1 per cent, respectively.
In October, aviation watchdog DGCA said Indian airlines will operate 25,007 flights every week to and from 124 airports in the winter schedule that started from October 27.
The number of flights is three per cent higher than 24,275 departures per week from 125 airports in the current summer schedule.
In comparison to the winter schedule 2023, the number of flights has increased by 5.37 per cent.
The winter schedule is from October 27, 2024 till March 29, 2025.
