The Ministry of Civil Aviation has come out with a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the restarting of commercial passenger flights in the country. The flights have been suspended since 25 March due to the nationwide lockdown, to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
Some of the measures included in the draft SOP state passengers will have to fill in a detailed questionnaire related to coronavirus, reach the airport at least two hours prior to departure, no cabin baggage will be allowed, and have the Aarogya Setu app downloaded.
Rajeev Jain, Additional Director General, Ministry of Civil Aviation put out a statement saying, “There are reports in the media regarding the SOP issued by MoCA for restarting of aviation post lockdown. It is clarified that suggestions were sought on a draft discussion paper from airlines & airports. The suggestions have now been received. The final SOP is yet to be issued.”
According to a PTI report, the draft suggests having the same set of cabin and cockpit crew for as long as possible so that cross contamination can be prevented. Another key suggestion made in the draft was that three rows of the aircraft should be kept vacant. There was, however, no mention of the middle seat of each row being left vacant so that social distancing can be maintained.
Distance markings will have to be put in place by the airports at all common areas such as lifts, escalators, chairs in seating areas, food and beverages etc. The common areas need to be disinfected as well.
(With inputs from PTI)
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