The state government on Tuesday wrote to the Centre, requesting it not to schedule any domestic flight to Bengal from places that have a high incidence of Covid-19.

Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha wrote to the secretary in the civil aviation ministry, pleading for suspension of flights for two weeks from July 6 from cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai, Indore, Ahmedabad and Surat to Calcutta and Bagdogra.

As for other cities, the government wants the frequency to be reduced to once a week from July 6 to 31.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had last week said the state would request the Centre to stop flights from cities with a high prevalence of Covid-19.

“As you know coronavirus is spreading fast all over the country. Some of the states are experiencing a larger spread of epidemic though we strongly believe that all the state governments are equally vigilant and active towards curbing the spread,” Sinha wrote in his letter to the civil aviation secretary.

“West Bengal is also witnessing a steep rise in cases. A large number of cases have been reported from people coming in the state from outside with infection. Government of West Bengal has decided to stop or curtail movement of incoming flights and trains into the state.”

Bengal on Tuesday reported 652 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s total to 17,907.

Sinha in the letter requested the ministry “not to schedule any flight” from high-prevalence places like “Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai, Indore, Ahmedabad and Surat” to Calcutta and Bagdogra for two weeks starting July 6. He then wrote: “I also request you to restrict the number of flights to Calcutta, Bagdogra and Andal from other cities to a frequency of once a week for each airline starting July 6 till July 31….”

A civil aviation ministry official, when contacted, did not make any comment. Several airlines said they were waiting for directives from the ministry and the directorate general of civil aviation.

The state had earlier written to the Centre requesting it to stop repatriation flights from abroad if it failed to ensure that passengers boarding such flights had booked paid quarantine facilities for themselves.

The Telegraph had earlier reported that hundreds of passengers arriving on repatriation flights had refused to go to paid quarantine facilities and, instead, headed home from the airport.

The Calcutta airport authorities said on Tuesday evening that no repatriation flights were scheduled to land in Calcutta from July 2. “An Air India flight from Cairo will arrive on July 1. We have learnt that all passengers have booked their quarantine accommodations,” an official said.