CORONAVIRUS | Low-cost airline AirAsia Bhd has welcomed the government’s decision to not make inflight social distancing mandatory, quoting the International Airline Transport Association’s (IATA) assertion that the risk of infection while flying is very low.

"Planes have features that lower the risk of inflight infection such as High-Efficiency Particulate Air (Hepa) filters that ensure the air inside planes is always clean, and the air quality is comparable to that in a hospital operating room,” chief executive officer Riad Asmat (above) told Bernama.

He said AirAsia also welcomes the reopening of domestic travel following the recent announcement of the recovery movement control order (MCO) as well as...