Travel and coronavirus: Ryanair boss slams proposal to remove middle seats on planes

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary dismissed "mad" proposals for planes to fly with empty middle seats when coronavirus travel restrictions end, saying they would be "hopelessly ineffective" as well as unaffordable. Instead, the carrier backs the introduction of mandatory temperature checks and face masks for passengers and crew when flights resume, its CE said. O'Leary was speaking a day after Wizz Air and IATA both said they were preparing for requirements that airlines fly only two-thirds full to allow some "social distancing" on board. Vacating every third seat would not in any case maintain the required 2-metre separation between passengers, which is also impossible to enforce at other "pinch points" during journeys, O'Leary said. <br/>