The civil aviation ministry on the 12th of April, announced the in-flight food on domestic flights with duration less than two hours.
The ban, imposed in view of rising Covid-19 cases, will come into effect from Thursday, the ministry said in its order.
“The Ministry of Civil Aviation, considering the increasing threat of Covid-19 and its variants, has decided to review onboard meal services in domestic flight operations,” an official notification said on Monday.
When scheduled domestic flights were resumed on May 25 after coronavirus lockdown last year, the ministry had allowed the airlines to serve in-flight meals under certain conditions.
Modifying the previous order, the ministry’s fresh directive said that the in-flight meals will only be served when the flight time is two hours or more.
Airlines may serve pre-packed snacks/meals/pre-packed beverage as per their policy as long as:
-The flight duration is two hours or more
-Plates and cutlery are completely disposable with no re-use
-Tea/coffee/alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are served only in disposable cans/containers/bottles
-All used disposable and rotable meal trays/cutleries, etc are disposed after use
-The servicing of in-flight meals is staggered among the adjacent seats as far as possible
The guidelines also call for crew members to wear for every meal and beverage service.
