With an aim to control the further spread of COVID-19 a disease caused by coronavirus in the post-lockdown period, full-service airline Vistara on Tuesday announced it will temporarily minimise its in-flight services in an attempt to reduce the touchpoints of human contact on board by up to 80 per cent.

The announcement falls in line with the government’s latest guidelines for the resumption of operations of all the airlines which were announced on Wednesday.

The carrier in a statement said that the service alterations in domestic flights’ premium economy class and economy class include a reduction in meal choices and withdrawal of services like onboard sales, welcome drink, hot meals and hot beverages.

It added that Starbucks coffee and Turkish towels will also not be served in business class and premium economy class.

“Water-pouring will be replaced with a distribution of 200ml sealed water bottles on all flights, and cold refreshments will be served to customers in premium economy and economy cabins, including to customers opting for economy lite fares,” the full-service carrier stated.

Vistara also plans to curtail certain services on its international flights as well.

India has been under complete lockdown since March 23 to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which resulted in a suspension of all domestic and international flights during this period. The closing of operations for over a month has badly affected financial status of the airline industry.

Meanwhile, during this period, Vistara is preparing and training its cabin crew members on minimising their chances of contracting or spreading the coronavirus.

“They will undergo thermal screenings before the departure and arrival of flights, and will be quarantined/tested if any colleagues or passengers show symptoms of infection or test positive for COVID-19,” the airline stated.

The statement further said that the cabin crew will wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks and disposable gloves, at all times.

To further reduce the risk of spreading the virus by touch, the airline said it had temporarily removed in-flight magazines and other reading materials from its aircraft fleet.

India so far has witnessed more than 33,000 coronavirus cases of which 1,074 have died.