Opinion | Get ready for ghost seats on planes

Brace for higher airline ticket prices once travel restrictions are lifted—and for ghost seats. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global aviation lobby group, has said that air carriers may have to leave middle seats empty—or a third of a typical single-aisle aircraft’s capacity—as and when commercial flights take wing again after they got grounded by the covid menace. This would be in line with social-distancing norms designed to prevent the spread of the virus that causes the dreaded disease.

IATA has also warned that the aviation industry would take at least two years to recover from the pandemic. India’s lockdown has been one of the world’s severest, and has hurt the aviation sector hard. The government has kept passenger air and rail services off its relaxation list for 20 April onwards. Even before the covid-19 outbreak, the market was in trouble. Technical glitches had dogged a few airlines, even as air traffic was slowing as a result of weakening economic conditions. Most carriers were staring at tough times. The covid crisis, some suspect, could deliver a knockout blow—unless airlines are bailed out with state funds.