IndiGo, India’s largest airlines, has said it will discontinue onboard meal services and run coaches at a maximum load of 50% capacity when services resume after the lockdown put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 is lifted.
The government had imposed a 21-day lockdown starting March 25 in one of the most drastic measures to break the chain of coronavirus infection. The Centre is now planning to lift the lockdown in a phased manner, which in turn will affect the routes open to airlines and how they will operate.
The airline’s chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta in a letter to its employees talked about the company’s current focus and ‘tentative plans for the immediate future’.
These will, Dutta said, include focus on cash flow and ‘examining all our fixed costs and looking for ways to minimize them’.
“The new set of procedures have not been finalized yet. But we will deep clean our aircraft more frequently, will discontinue meal services for a brief period and run our coaches at a maximum load of 50 per cent. We will come out with the new set of protocols very soon,” Dutta also said in the mail.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had also framed a set of protocols to ensure that social distancing measures in aircraft and airports for passengers as well as companies. The aviation regulator before the lockdown was clamped issued protocols mandating airlines to keep the middle seat and last three rows empty.
From requesting flyers to keep a distance of minimum one metre at check-in counters, waiting areas and during security checks, the regulatory body also asked authorities to provide sanitisers for staff and passengers at the aircraft gates.
One of the guidelines was for cabin crew to maintain adequate distance while serving the passengers.
“Our focus is to look after all our stakeholders, our customers, our employees, our investors and the community we serve. We are making sure that we are taking decisive actions with each set of stakeholders in mind,” Dutta said.
