On Monday, the High Court of Bombay accepted the recommendation made by a high-level expert committee constituted by the DGCA to recommend safety measures & permitted airline operators to allow passengers to occupy middle seats.
A division bench of Justice Surendra P Tavade & Justice SJ Kathawalla also pointed out that airline operators need to strictly follow the guidelines of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to prevent the spread of coronavirus during flights.
The DGCA, had in an earlier order of June 3, asked airlines to keep middle seats vacant in flights & if booked, the airline operator should provide the passenger in middle seats a wrap-around gown apart from the other protective gear including a three-layered mask & face shield.
The bench in its order said that "We are of the prima facie view that the safety & health of the passengers on board the aircraft qua COVID-19 virus is adequately taken care of even if the middle seat of the aircraft is not kept vacant on account of passenger load & seat capacity".
The HC dismissed the writ petition filed by Air India pilot Deven Kanani, which had sought the Court's intervention to direct Air India & DGCA to formulate guidelines with regard to the middle seat in the airline.
In May, the High Court of Bombay, in an interim order on Kanani's petition, directed Air India to keep the middle seat vacant while operating the aircraft.
The order of the High Court was challenged in the Apex Court, which had temporarily allowed Air India to operate non-scheduled foreign flights with middle seat booking, & asked the HC to decide on the matter again.
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