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The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the national carrier Air India to operate international flights in service with a middle seat booking. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Centre and Air India after the Bombay high court asked why the airline was not keeping the middle seats vacant on the international flights.
“Air India will be licensed to operate non-scheduled foreign flights with the middle seats in reserve for the next 10 days,” the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde said.
The Bombay high court, while hearing a petition of a pilot, had sought a reply from the Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The pilot Must Kanani, in her statement said a circular issued by the Government of India on 23 March 2020 put some conditions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to bring back the Indians stranded abroad due to the pandemic.
However, the condition pertaining to keeping the middle seat between two passengers empty was not being followed by Air India, said in the statement.
Kanani submitted photographs of an Air India flight operated between San Francisco and Mumbai, where all the seats were occupied.
Air India advocate Abhinav Chandrachud opposed the plea and said that the high court that the circular of 23 March, has been replaced with a new circular issued by the Government of India on 22 May 2020, while allowing domestic flights to operate from May 25the new circular does not say that the middle seat should remain empty, Chandrachud told the court.
A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Abhay Ahuja on Friday, however, pointed out that a quick look at the date of the circular of 22 May indicates that it only applies to national operations and not to the international operations.
The bank that runs the Air India and DGCA to file affidavits clarifying their stand, and published in the request for the hearing, on 2 June.
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