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.