GoAir announces measures to protect staff and flyers as it prepares to resume flights from May 4

These measures fully incorporate all of the recommendations from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) along with some additional measures that the airline is proactively taking.

In a media release it spelt out the slew of measures that GoAir will undertake:

Strict social distancing at the airport during check-in and boarding, and on the aerobridges and buses, including row-wise boarding and deboarding.

Check-in counters to open 3 hours prior to flight, and close 1 hour prior, to allow more time for sanitized processing of customers and baggage

Ground time for aircraft between flights to be increased to allow for cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces that come into contact with crew or passengers in the cabin, galley, and lavatories

Availability of hand sanitizers at all key touchpoints on the ground and in the aircraft

Social distancing on the aircraft to be enforced – all middle seats will be left empty so that no passenger will have an immediate neighbor

Reduction of inflight service to minimize non-essential interaction between passengers and crew – only water will be provided, there will be no meals or snack service

Suspension of all on-board sales

Clearance of seat pockets of all items except for safety card, which will be replaced or sanitized after each flight

Crew to wear face masks and gloves at all times when interacting with passengers and when in the aisles

Announcements will be made to minimize use of lavatories, and to avoid any non-essential movement in the aisles

Deep cleaning of aircraft, disinfection, and fogging will be undertaken each night for the entire fleet

In addition, staff will wipe down all kiosks and airport counters frequently with disinfectant, and airport ticket offices and back offices will be fully disinfected and sanitized each night. Passengers will be encouraged to print their boarding passes at home to minimize interactions at the airport, it said.

Commenting on the measures being taken, Vinay Dube, CEO – GoAir, said: “GoAir is in full preparation mode for a gradual commencement of flights from 4th May 2020. Nothing is more important to us at GoAir than the safety and well-being of our staff, crew and passengers."

"We are going above and beyond the Government recommendations in an effort to ensure maximum health and safety measures are undertaken as we gradually emerge from this unimaginable and unprecedented global crisis,” he said.