Follow SOP given by DGCA: HC to airlines

The Bombay high court (HC) has directed all airlines providing domestic and international flight services, including Vande Bharat special flight services, to adhere to the May 31 guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) till the court pronounces its order in a writ petition filed by a pilot of national carrier Air India.

An expert committee of DGCA, while responding to the query raised by the bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and justice SP Tavade on whether Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, could spread through inadvertent touch informed the Bombay high court (HC) that the virus could spread by an inadvertent touch only if the droplet from the sneeze or cough of an infected person was touched by an unaffected person. The committee further clarified that if the infected persons were wearing a proper PPE kit then the virus would not spread through a mere touch.