Airports Authority of India discontinues keeping 3 seats vacant on International flights is removed
Highlights
- The requirement of a complete PPE kit for the crew members has been removed
- The mandate to keep 3 seats vacant on international flights has been done away with
- The mandate to wear masks onboard flights and on airports shall continue
In its revised COVID-19 guidelines, the Airports Authority of India on Saturday announced removing several restrictions onboard flights. According to the notification, the mandate of keeping three seats vacant on international flights has been removed. In addition, the Airports Authority of India has also done away with the requirement of a complete PPE kit for the crew members.
The pat-down search conducted by the security personnel at the airport has been re-introduced.
However, the Airports Authority of India has clarified the mandate of wearing masks at the airport or inside planes will continue.
The restrictions onboard flights and on airports were placed in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the country earlier.
Meanwhile, Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Monday said around 76.96 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in February, approximately 20 per cent more than the 64.08 lakh who flew in January.
The February figure is a sign that the domestic aviation market is recovering after the 43 percent dip that was observed in January due to Omicron variant of coronavirus.
In December last year, 1.12 crore domestic passengers had travelled by air.
The passenger load factors -- which means occupancy rates -- increased for all Indian carriers in February as compared to January, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated in its monthly statement.
The load factors of SpiceJet, IndiGo, Vistara, Go First, Air India and AirAsia India were 89.1 percent, 85.2 percent, 87.1 percent, 87 percent, 84.1 percent and 83.2 percent, respectively, in February 2022, it mentioned.
