In line with the social distancing guideline on COVID-19, Dana Air said it would keep the middle seats on all its aircraft empty upon resumption of flights.
The Accountable Manager of the airline, Obi Mbanuzuo, said Dana Air will commence this initiative when flights resume and will maintain while listening to the feedback from the airline’s customers.
Following the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, airlines in the country have suspended flights for two weeks and later extended it till further notice.
They are, however, hoping to resume flights as soon as the curve of infections is flattened.
Dana Air however said the precautionary measure on social distancing would continue to be in place on its flights on resumption.
Mbanuzuo said the first concern of the airline “is the safety and well-being of our staff and customers and we have made firm arrangements to ensure that our thorough cleaning and disinfection program continues. We are taking this seriously as we do not know how long this will last.”
He said: “Majority of our aircraft are configured with mainly three seats in a row, on either side of the aisle, so when we resume flights anytime soon, we will keep the middle seats empty so passengers can sit on the window and aisle seats to ensure some physical distancing onboard all our flights.
”This is just to give our guests some sense of security about their health and well-being when flying with us immediately after the pandemic and it will be for sometime, while we continue to review feedback from our guests on their thoughts, but we believe it what customers might like to see.”
Speaking on the impact of COVID-19 on domestic airlines, Obi said, ”domestic airlines have lost over N360billion to this pandemic and still counting. we do not know when it will be over.”
”There are charges, fees, allowances, salaries, aircraft leases, taxes all pending and over 100 aircraft parked nationwide without generating a dime. The VAT which contributes to the high cost of airfares is yet to be removed.
“These are the issues and the government needs to seriously consider helping airlines to survive this trying time.” he added.
