New Delhi: The Supreme Court bench led by the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, on Monday, allowed the Air India to operate its non-scheduled international flights with the centre seat booking for 10 days. Thereafter instructed the airline to operate as per the Bombay High Court's order which had directed to keep middle seats vacant.
On 22nd May, the Bombay HC had directed the Air India to keep the middle seats vacant of non-scheduled International flights in response to a plea filed by the Air India's pilot who claimed that social distancing norms were not being followed by the flights during the evacuation of the stranded Indians abroad.
He claimed, by showing pictures in the HC, that all the seats were being booked and the middle seats in the flights were not kept vacant which could lead to the spread of virus due to such proximity.
Civil Aviation Ministry and Air India had moved to the Supreme Court for urgent hearing of their petitions against the Bombay High court order.
The HC had also held that the 23rd March circular of the DGCA asking to keep the middle seats vacant in flights to enforce social distancing. SG Tushar Mehta contended today that this circular was applicable only for scheduled commercial flights and not special international flights to bring back the stranded Indians from abroad.
The circular issued on 22nd March had no directions of keeping the middle seats vacant but is superseded by the circular of 23rd March, SG also clarified in the court.
The top court today said in its order that normally they would not have interfered in the HC's interim order but as SG Tushar Mehta (appearing for Centre and Air India) pointed out various difficulties faced by passengers stranded on foreign soil, the court is of the view that Air India should be allowed to fly with all the seats occupied for 10 days.
Mehta had contended before the court that plans of families travelling together have been disrupted among many other things.
SG Tushar Mehta informed the court that on 4th May, there was a meeting held by the medical and aviation experts and they said that leaving the middle seat vacant would not serve any purpose and the best practice is testing and quarantine.
On being enquired about the bookings, the SG informed the court that till 16th June all the seats including middle ones have been booked.
When SG Mehta objected by saying that the scope of the order has expanded and the condition has been put on non-scheduled International flights also, CJI responded, "We know what we are doing. You should be worried about the health of the citizens, not about the health of commercial airlines."
The bench also ordered that Air India and DGCA are free to alter any norms it may consider appropriate during the pendency of the matter and asked the Bombay HC to decide on the matter expeditiously.
The bench passed orders on a special sitting, as the court was closed today on the occasion of Eid.
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