The muddle over the middle seat got more complicated as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered airlines to either try and keep middle seats vacant or, insist that middle seat passengers wear ‘wraparound gowns’ apart from other protective gear. Making the exercise even more muddled is the requirement that those gowns meet textile ministry standards.
Under the RedPass initiative, AirAsia India will give away 50,000 seats without any base fare on flights across its domestic sectors to doctors as a gesture of gratitude for their commendable efforts in support of the nation, the airline said in release.
Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday asked airlines to keep middle seats vacant to the extent possible in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. However, if a flyer has been allotted the middle seat due to a high passenger load "then additional protective equipment like wrap-around gown of the Ministry of Textile approved standards" must be provided to him or her in addition to a three-layered face mask and face shield, said the DGCA order.
However, if a flyer has been allotted the middle seat due to a high passenger load "then additional protective equipment like wrap-around gown of the Ministry of Textile approved standards" must be provided to that passenger in addition to three-layered face mask and face shield, said the DGCA order.
New Delhi: Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Monday extended the deadline for IndiGo and GoAir to replace all the 60 unmodified Pratt and Whitney (PW) engines on their A320neo planes from May 31 to August 31, as supply chain has been impacted due to the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown. The PW engine-powered A320 neo planes in IndiGo and GoAir fleets have been facing glitches both mid-air and on-ground since their induction way back in 2016.
Indian carriers operated a total of 3,370 flights till May 31 -- 428 on May 25, 445 on May 26, 460 on May 27, 494 on May 28, 513 on May 29 and 529 on May 30.
On Monday, the regulator said: "We took a call a couple of days back and instructed both the airlines. Both taken together about 60 engines are yet to be replaced and the obvious reason was COVID-19 impact and the resultant lockdowns."
Carriers are likely to take delivery of not more than 25 planes for the year ending December, less than a third of what they were collectively scheduled to get, said several people aware of the matter. This includes 10-15 planes already inducted, they said.
The joint venture between the national carrier and SATS, a Singapore ground-handler and in-flight caterer, will propose sharing of costs with its airline customers, its chief commercial officer Raj Andrade told ET. The company also plans to invest in hi-tech UV-C emitting cleaning machine for aircraft interiors
It asked passengers to reach the airport three hours before departure time since COVID-19 prevention measures such as bag sanitisation and thermal screening will take longer than usual.
In a letter to Air India Executive Director (Operations) R S Sandhu, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which represents over 700 members, has also sought clarity on the protocol that is to be followed in case a pilot operating Vande Bharat Mission or domestic flights is tested positive for COVID-19.
Puri said on Twitter on Saturday: "Day 5. 29th May till 2359 hrs. Departures 513. 39,969 passengers handled. Arrivals 512. 39,972 passengers handled." A departure is counted as a flight during the day. During the pre-lockdown period, Indian airports handled around 3,000 daily domestic flights, aviation industry sources said.
Air India's Delhi-Moscow flight returns midway to Delhi as ground team realises the pilot is COVID-19 positive.More details by TIMES NOW’s Heena Gambhir.
"When the A320 plane, which did not have any passengers as it was heading to Moscow to bring back stranded Indians under Vande Bharat Mission, had reached Uzbekistan's airspace, our team on ground realised that one of the pilots had tested COVID-positive," senior Air India officials said.
