Mumbai: As air travel gets increasingly safer with norms like mandatory testing for Covid, airlines have begun seeking relaxation of certain norms. Following a request from Air India, the ministry of civil aviation has now removed the requirement of an isolation zone inside aircraft for flights under four hours.
Under the ministry’s standard operating procedures (SOP), when Air India restarted international flights in May, the last row had to be reserved as quarantine area and so the seats had to be left vacant. However in the recent months, with Covid testing emerging as a mandatory requirement for international passengers, the probability of a passenger developing and showing symptoms on board the flight has reduced. In the last week of November, the Air India chairman and managing director sought the relaxation of that norm for all international flights.
In an office memorandum issued on December 16, the ministry amended the said norm to allow flights with duration of four hours or less to be operated without such a quarantine area. Airlines operating international flights, like Mumbai-Dubai, for instance, don’t need to block the last row three seats from now.
“Airline shall carry sufficient number of PPE kits to be provided to passengers who develop symptoms while in flight,” the ministry order said. For flights of over four hour duration, the last row on the right-side aisle (in case of twin aisle aircraft, right-side of the right aisle) of the aircraft should be reserved as a quarantine area for handling possible in-flight emergencies, the order, signed by Usha Padhee, joint secretary, MoCA, said.
19/12/20 Times of India
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