Cabin crew members don’t need to wear PPE gear anymore, airlines don’t need to leave three empty seats on international flights for medical emergencies, and airport security can once again pat down passengers.
The ministry’s order, dated March 21, said that the “smooth conduct of air operations” would benefit from the change.
After the Omicron variant slowed down demand in January, the aviation market in India is now starting to pick up again. The number of people who flew domestically in February was about 20% more than in January.
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The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said that the rule that international flights must have three empty seats for COVID-19 medical emergencies had been lifted.
A few more PPE protective gears, like sanitizer and N-95 masks, may be kept on planes by airlines to deal with any respiratory infections caused by cases on the plane for both passengers and crew.
COVID-19 cases have dropped, there are more vaccines, and the COVID-19 situation hasn’t changed much, the airline said in a statement. Flights to and from the United States will resume on March 27, 2022.
The MoCA said the requirement for a crew member to have a complete set of PPE had been dropped.
“However, using a face mask and hand hygiene/sanitizer are still required,” it said.
The pat-down search by airport security officers is back, as directed by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
“During the process, the security personnel must wear N-95 masks, sanitize their hands after each pat-down search, and follow COVID-19 rules,” it said.
In a single day, India saw 1,581 new COVID-19 cases. The total number of infections in the country now stands at 4,30,10,971, while the number of active cases has dropped to 23,913, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
As of 8 am, the ministry’s data said that the death toll had reached 5,16,543, with 33 deaths per day.
