SpiceJet today made a formal announcement of the restarting of its domestic flying operations and reassured its customers about their safety inside the aircraft in view of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The company resumed operations after a gap of exactly two months due to the Coronavirus lockdown.
Flights are being operated on sectors such as Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Pune, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Guwahati, Ahmedabad-Delhi, Delhi–Patna, Mumbai–Bengaluru and Chennai–Bengaluru.
SpiceJet said its seats now have synthetic leather surfaces, instead of fabric surfaces, as a safety precaution. “These non-porous seats don’t allow the COVID-19 virus to penetrate inside them and can be easily wiped off compared to standard fabric seats,” it said.
It also said the cabin air filtration system will reduce chances of Coronavirus transmission among passengers.
“Our planes are equipped with state-of-the-art air circulation systems and the cabin airflow in our aircraft rule out spread of any air-borne disease. The cabin air only flows from top to bottom and gets absorbed at the bottom for filtration.
“Cabin air is constantly exchanged with a mix of 50% outside air and 50% filtered air. This air exchange happens every 2-3 minutes to ensure the availability of fresh and clean air. All our aircraft use a high-efficiency (HEPA) filter (like those found in hospitals) which removes up to 99.9+% of airborne particles like viruses and bacteria,” it said.
In addition, it said it has put in place a “best-in-class cleaning procedure” for its aircraft, customer touch-points and other surfaces.
It will also subject its staff to detailed health check-ups, and has also reduced the number of persons allowed on its airport buses, the airline said.
SpiceJet also warned passengers not to remove their masks to consume any food while in the air.
“SpiceJet has decided to temporarily suspend Food and Beverage services on all its flights. Food and beverage consumption inside the flight is also not allowed and SpiceJet recommends that they be consumed at home or at the airport premises,” it said.
Separately, most states require passengers arriving on domestic flights to undergo a 14-day quarantine before interacting with others.