Middle Seat Won't Be Empty, One Check-in Bag And No Meal Onboard As India Opens Up Its Skies

The much talked about leaving the middle seats on flights to maintain social distancing once flight operations resume is not happening, the government has confirmed.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday issued general instructions for domestic travellers as India is set to resume flights from Monday. Middle seats won't be left vacant, said the aviation minister.

hardeep singh puri/ twitter

"Even if you keep the middle seat vacant, you'll still have a situation where the prescribed distance for social distancing isn't followed," he said.

Keeping them vacant will increase the ticket fare by 33 per cent which will burden the customers, he added.

Other restrictions include one check-in bag per passenger and no meal services on board. Airlines will initially be permitted to operate at one-third the capacity of the approved summer schedule Airfares will be capped for three months till August 24.

BCCL

Airlines have been asked to adhere to the lower and upper limits of fares prescribed by the Ministry.

The routes have been divided into seven sections for fare control. The first section is where flight duration is less than 40 minutes. The second section is where the duration is between 40-60 minutes. The rest all are between 60-210 minutes. On the Delhi-Mumbai route, the lower limit would be Rs 3,500 while the upper limit would be Rs 10,000.

Apart from this, airlines have also been asked to sell 40 per cent of the tickets in the lower bracket.

Vulnerable persons, such as very elderly, pregnant women and passengers with health issues, are advised to restrain from air travel.

Those who are from containment zones will be prohibited from boarding the flight.

BCCL

A self-declaration/Aarogya Setu app status (for compatible device) would also be obtained that the passenger is free of COVID-19 symptoms.

Passengers with "red" status on the Aarogya Setu app would not be permitted to travel.

Passengers should report at least two hours before the departure time.

Only those passengers with confirmed web check-in shall be allowed to enter the airport.

It is mandatory for all passengers to wear protective gear before entering the terminal.

Passengers are expected to wear masks throughout the journey.

Passenger should travel in an authorised taxi/personal vehicle following the norms specified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

AFP

Domestic flight operations will resume in India from May 25. All commercial passenger flights were suspended in the country from March 25, when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.