The Bombay High Court on Monday has allowed to fill up middle seats in both domestic and international flights. However, the HC sought strict conformity with the May 31 circular of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which requires passengers to wear wrap-around gowns along with a face shield and mask.
The Centre for a long time had been against keeping the middle seat vacant. Hardeep Singh Puri, the Civil Aviation Minister stated that the airlines all over the world had decided to not keep the middle seat empty. He further stated that even if the middle seats were kept empty, rules of social distancing might not be followed. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier announced that sitting within six feet of each other for hours can increase the chances of catching the coronavirus as a consequence of prolonged exposure.
The division benching consisting of Justices S J Kathawalla and S P Tavade passed the resolution through video-conference on a plea filed by Air India pilot Deven Kanani on Monday. The pilot had alleged that the national carrier Air India had violated social distancing norms while evacuating Indians stranded abroad on special flights. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed the doubling of the number of flights at the Mumbai airport to 50 arrivals and 50 departures. The Ministry also plans to increase the capacity on domestic routes.
In the past, the HC had asked DGCA and Air India to provide data of Indians, who were not infected with the coronavirus before they boarded special flights under the Vande Bharat Mission, but have tested positive for COVID-19 after landing in the country. As a response, the Central government had submitted that at least 227 of the 58,867 Indians who boarded special flights to return home, tested positive for the coronavirus. However, there is no proof to corroborate if they caught the infection in the flights as the individuals started showing symptoms during their quarantine period.
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