COVID-19 effects: This airline in India will discontinue its on-board meal service

Amidst the COVID-19 scare, airlines in India are grounded but are planning to reopen in phases. One of India’s most popular airlines, IndiGo, is looking to resume operations slowly after the lockdown gets lifted. The airline will practise social distancing on-board and on the ground, and has taken some steps to cut costs as well.
According to reports, the airline management has decided to fill its airport buses at 50 percent capacity, and discontinue meals on-board. Furthermore, there is going to be systemic deep cleaning of aircrafts to protect against the coronavirus. Currently, the country is in a 21-day lockdown, with chances of an extension post-April 14, 2020. Passengers would be checked for fever at security checks, and people running a temperature would not be permitted to enter airports.


Ronojoy Dutta, CEO of the airline, said in a statement that the company has always been concerned about safety, and is also becoming health conscious during this time of a global pandemic. He also said that the company will come up with some new protocols very soon.
According to sources, the aviation sector can be removed from the second phase of lockdown. The matter is still under review. Currently, only cargo and special flights are permitted to operate in India. As talks of the lockdown getting extended are underway, the aviation sector could get relaxation as per a recommendation made.

According to the Air Transport Association, about 25 million jobs are at risk due to shutdown, as passenger demand has also reduced drastically.