Ensure Covid-19 regulations are followed, DGCA tells airlines

With Covid-19 cases on the rise across the country, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Wednesday told airlines to ensure that passengers wear masks throughout their journey and follow Covid protocols.

“Airlines have been advised to strictly comply with COVID-19 protocols inside the aircraft,” Arun Kumar, director general, DGCA said in a statement.

“Airlines have to ensure that passengers are wearing face masks properly throughout the journey and ensure proper sensitisation of passengers through various platforms,” he added.

The regulator warned that in case a passenger does not comply with the directions, strict action will be taken by airlines against the passenger.

“We will follow it up with random checks. To ensure that these protocols are being followed,” a DGCA official said.

In June, the aviation regulator had said that those passengers who do not wear masks on the flight can be treated as “unruly”.

However, an airport official, “Though the rules of wearing masks remained, some leniency was there among the flyers. With this mandate, the rules will be strictly followed again.”

India on Wednesday recorded 9,062 fresh COVID-19 infections that took its tally to 44,286,256, while the number of active cases came down to 105,058, according to Union health ministry data