Bombay High Court demands reply from Air India in a petition over safety measures in flights

Bombay High Court demands a reply from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Air India airlines on a petition filed by Air India pilot, Deven Kanani. The plea claims that the airline neglected the safety protocol while bringing back Indian stranded abroad.

The circular issued by the government of India on 23rd March 2020 claim that while bringing back the passengers the middle seats should be left empty by the airlines in order to maintain social distancing. However, the photographs submitted by Deven shows that all seats were occupied on the flight from San Francisco and Mumbai.

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Abhinav Chandrachud, Air India Counsel has opposed this petition. He states that the circular issued by the government are now superseded by the new circular issued by the government on 22nd May 2020, permitting domestic flights to fly from 25th May 2020. The new circular says nothing regarding leaving the middle seat empty. According to him, all necessary safety measures were followed while bringing back the Indians stranded abroad.

However, on Friday Justice R D Dhanuka and Abhay Ahuja said that the latest circular is applicable on domestic flights not on international operations. The court has allowed Deven Kanani to make changes in his petition to challenge the latest circular. It also directed the DGCA and Air India airline to file affidavits in order to clear their stand. The next hearing of the case will be on 2nd June 2020.