IndiGo CEO apprises passengers of safety measures, says airlines 'safest mode of travel'

As business activity gradually picks up pace after two months of lockdown in India, mobility among people has also increased due to relaxations. At this time, the airline industry is trying to convince passengers that air transport is the safest mode of travel during the COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking of the safety measures adopted in aircraft, Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo said that the airbus aircraft cabin is equipped with High-Efficiency Particle Filters (HEPA) filter which ensures that the virus does re-circulate.

"The surfaces are cleaned thoroughly and passengers are wearing face masks. So, the risk of transmission by air or through droplets is really being minimized," he said.

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According to aviation experts, HEPA allows complete air change approximately 15-30 times per hour or every two to four minutes. Stating that the Civil Aviation Ministry also agreed that the measures that the industry has been taking are really quite impressive".

"Therefore, I would like to stress that airlines are clearly the safest mode of transportation," Dutta said.

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CEO praises IndiGo staff

Ronojoy Dutta praised his staff and the ground staff for playing a key role in the smooth operation of flights in a pandemic situation. He said the staff, including the engineering teams, ensured that the schedule was maintained and the customer relations team managed a large number of passenger inquiries with empathy and professionalism.

Over a dozen passengers have tested positive for COVID-19 since the resumption of domestic air flights. A total of 45,762 passengers boarded flights on June 2 till 5 pm.

The Central government had held extensive consultations with aviation stakeholders before announcing the partial resumption of domestic flights on May 25 during the fourth phase of Coronavirus-induced lockdown.

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(With inputs from ANI)