India’s aviation regulator has told airlines to keep the middle seats in an aircraft vacant or offer protective gowns to passengers as it intensifies safety measures amid incidents of coronavirus infections soon after the country lifted a two-month ban on domestic air travel.

A senior official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said airlines have been directed to allot seats to passengers in such a manner that the middle seat is unoccupied. This provided passenger load factor and seat capacity in an aircraft permits the arrangement, the official said.

“However, members of the same family will be allowed to sit together," the official said, requesting anonymity. The directives, which were issued on 29 May, will come into force from Wednesday, the official added.

The new directives are based on recommendations by an expert committee formed by the civil aviation ministry on 26 May to review and strengthen safety protocols related to air travel. A DGCA order dated 29 May and made public on Monday has also asked airlines to provide safety kits to passengers comprising three-layered surgical masks, face shields and sanitizers. It has also told airlines not to offer meals or drinking water to travellers on board, except for health reasons.

A copy of the DGCA order has been reviewed by Mint.

An airline official said the new directives are unlikely to make a major dent to airline earnings as middle seats are to be kept vacant only on flights that are comparatively empty.

“Airlines expect a decline in passenger demand after an initial surge seen post resumption of domestic air services. The middle seats can then be kept vacant, as much as possible," the official said, requesting anonymity. The official said also the DGCA order is not expected to affect airfares, which have already been capped by the government.

Airlines are seeing high passenger load factors between metro and non-metro cities, while flights between metro cities are relatively empty, said the airline official cited above.

Indian carriers resumed domestic flights from 25 May, following a staggered lifting of a ban on air travel, including at coronavirus hotspots of Delhi and Mumbai that host the country’s busiest airports.

Soon after, cases emerged of several asymptomatic passengers who travelled on flights, mostly of IndiGo, later testing positive for covid-19. This has increased challenges for airlines and authorities struggling to return to normalcy.

DGCA has also directed airlines to follow strict sequential embarkation and disembarkation processes for passengers for boarding and de-boarding.

In cases where the middle seat is occupied, airlines have been asked to make provisions to provide additional protective gear like wrap-around gowns to passengers occupying the intervening seats.

A senior official at a budget airline said the government decision to either keep middle seats empty or make passengers wear a protective gown is impractical. “Nowhere around the world are they taking such measures. We also don’t expect these measures to help much to prevent spread of covid-19," the official said, asking not to be named.

International flights continue to remain grounded, except for repatriation flights operated by national carrier Air India to bring back stranded citizens from abroad and by other nations flying back their citizens from India.

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