In a potential setback for airline operators, the Supreme Court on Monday heavily reprimanded the government for starting flight operations while allowing bookings on middle seats in flights. The SC cautioned the government that it should be more concerned about the health of its citizens rather than the health of airlines.

SC was hearing a plea by the government and Air India that had challenged a Bombay high court order directing more middle seats to be kept vacant for international non-operational flights. Air India Pilot Deven Yogesh Kanani had moved the Bombay HC, citing safety concerns on non-scheduled international flights for bringing back Indians stranded overseas.

The apex court, however, did not limit the arguments to only non-scheduled international flights. The SC widened the scope of the issue to all flights — international and domestic and aimed at the govt while observing that it was common sense to ensure that social distancing is maintained. The SC noted that sitting shoulder to shoulder in flights could be dangerous.

Widening the scope of the case, from beyond non-scheduled international flights bringing back Indians to also include domestic flights, the SC order clarifies that Director General of Civil Aviation is “free to alter any norms, during the pendency of the matter, in the interest of public health and safety of passengers, rather than commercial considerations.

SC also sarcastically questioned the government, “Will the virus know it's on a plane and is not supposed to infect?”

The observation from SC came after the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the May 22 circular allowing flight operations from May 25 was arrived at after detailed discussion with health experts. The government had argued that the May 22 circular, allowing flights, makes no mention of keeping the middle seat vacant.

The government had also sought to assure that stranded passengers being flown in were subject to various safety precautions such as mandatory 7 days of institutional quarantine, followed by 7 days of home quarantine.

The government’s arguments, however, failed to impress the top court. The SC refused to stay or quash the Bombay HC order directing for middle seats to be kept vacant in international flights. SC, in turn, has remanded the issue back to the Bombay HC while directing it to arrive at a “prima facie finding regarding the safety and health of the passengers qua the Covid-19 virus”, irrespective of whether the flight is a scheduled or unscheduled flight.

The Bombay HC will now consider this plea on June 2.

However, given the emergency nature of "Vande-Bharat" non-scheduled international flights, to bring back stranded Indians, the SC has relaxed the Bombay HC for 10 days, till June 6, to allow for middle row seating.

SC order records, "Air India should be allowed to operate the non-scheduled flights with the middle seats booking up to 6th June, 2020. However, after that, the Air India will operate non-scheduled flights in accordance with the interim order to be passed by the Bombay High Court."

First Published:May 25, 2020 2:05 PM IST