DGCA Asks Airlines To Strictly Adhere To Covid-19 Protocols Amid Uptick In Cases

In a bid to ensure that the norms are in place, in a statement, the DGCA said that it will be conducting "random checks" in aircraft across the country.

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New Delhi: Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday asked all the Indian carriers to strictly adhere to the protocols, including mask mandate for passengers, even inside aircraft, news agency PTI reported.

In a bid to ensure that the norms are in place, in a statement, the DGCA said that it will be conducting "random checks" in aircraft across the country.

According to the statement, all the airlines have to ensure that the passengers are wearing face masks properly throughout the journey and there is proper sensitisation of the passengers through various platforms.

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"In case a passenger does not comply with the directions, strict action will be taken by airlines against the passenger," the statement added.

The statement further said that in the light of an uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases, the airlines have been advised again on August 16 to strictly comply with the protocols inside the aircraft.

Meanwhile, India on Wednesday recorded 9,062 fresh COVID-19 infections that took its tally to 4,42,86,256, while the number of active cases came down to 1,05,058, according to Union health ministry data.

The death toll climbed to 5,27,134 with 36 new fatalities, including six reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.24 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 98.57 per cent, the ministry said.

A decline of 6,194 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.49 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.38 per cent, the ministry said.