KOLKATA: The miraculous survival of Viswashkumar Ramesh, the only person to escape Thursday’s AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad, has led to an unprecedented demand for seats near emergency exits on flights across carriers. Ramesh was seated on 11A – next to the emergency exit – when tragedy struck.Seat numbers next to emergency exits vary according to the types of aircraft and class configuration. These seats come with extra legroom and a higher price. Aviation experts, however, said such seats may not provide any additional safety in the event of a crash. All they offer is ample legroom.For some passengers, however, they offer mental peace now, report Tamaghna Banerjee & Subhro Niyogi.Jitender Singh Bagga, who runs a distribution and logistics operations business, said he asked his travel agent to only book seats next to emergency exits when he travels to the US via Delhi next week. “I am willing to fork out any extra amount,” Bagga said.Rajesh Bhagnani also told his agent about his preference for a seat next to the emergency exit. “After watching Viswashkumar’s great escape, I want to be next to the emergency exit,” said Bhagnani. Anil Punjabi of the Travel Agents Federation of India, confirmed the rise in queries for these seats, with a special interest in seat 11A.
