KARACHI                 -           The partial domestic flight opera­tions, the government allowed at five major airports of the country after almost a 56-day suspension on May 16, is progressing in a smooth man­ner under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), adopted to con­tain the spread of coronavirus (CO­VID-19). Elaborate safety measures are in place to ensure the maintain­ing of social distance during flights, being operated by Pakistan Interna­tional Airlines (PIA) and Serene Air, and at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar airports.

Besides, under an extensive aware­ness drive, banner-stands have been placed at the airport lounges to edu­cate passengers about importance of social distancing, washing of hands with soap and use of hand-sanitiz­ers, wearing of masks and gloves to tackle the virus threat, according to video clips and images shared by the Aviation Division.

“Baggage is disinfected upon ar­rival and passengers are not allowed to collect their luggage on their own from the belt. Social distancing is maintained at every stage in strict compliance of the SOPs,” a spokes­man for the Aviation Division said in a brief statement. The two airlines were operating their flights with 50 percent seat occupancy to maintain the required social distance among passengers during the air travel.

Under the SOPs, the Aviation Divi­sion has made disinfection of aircraft prior to boarding of passengers, maintaining at least one vacant-seat distance between the passengers, wearing of face masks and use of hand-sanitizer mandatory for the flight operations.