Minimise use of middle seat, DGCA tells airlines

New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) The civil aviation regulator has asked airlines to avoid allocating the middle seat to passengers, if aircraft capacity allows.”The airline shall allot seats in a manner that the middle seat or seat between two passengers is kept vacant, if the passenger load and seat capacity permit,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in an order on Sunday.However, members of the same family could be allowed to sit together, it added.If the middle seat was occupied due to the high passenger load, the airline would have to provide additional protective equipment, like ‘wrap around gown’, to the person “occupying the intervening seat in addition to the three layer face mask and face shield,” it said. –IANSrv-sn/pcj