Aer Lingus passenger's snap of packed Belfast to Heathrow flight with '95% seats taken and no social distancing' sparks urgent probe by airline

Aer Lingus is to conduct a review after pictures emerged of an almost full flight with no apparent evidence of social distancing measures.

The airline said any process changes required would be implemented as a 'matter of urgency'.

The move came as pictures were shared from inside the cabin of a Belfast to London Heathrow flight on Monday morning, showing row after row filled with passengers.

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Pictures were shared from inside the cabin of a Belfast to London Heathrow flight on Monday morning, showing row after row filled with passengers

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Aer Lingus is to conduct a review after the pictures emerged of an almost full flight with no apparent evidence of social distancing measures

Passenger Sean Mallon told BBC Radio Ulster there was 'no social distancing whatsoever'. 

'I would say there was about 95% of the seats taken on the flight,' he said.

Last week, air passengers slammed social distancing on planes, saying people are being crammed on board ‘like sardines’.

Pictures also emerged last week showing packed trips including a BA service from Heathrow to Barcelona and a flight from Turkey.

It came as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested foreign visitors travelling to Britain could face mandatory quarantine.

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Airplane passengers says they are being crammed upon aircraft 'like sardines' and say this makes a mockery of the current social distancing guidelines. Pictured, Personal trainer Gemma Bain, 21, revealed people were also packed on to her Pegasus Airlines flight from Turkey to Stansted on Tuesday

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Aircrafts have been full - including this British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Barcelona this week - despite the growing uncertainty over the short-term future of air travel

In other developments in the UK's coronavirus crisis today:   

• Residents of the Isle of Wight were urged to sign up for a pilot scheme of a virus-tracking app;
• New figures revealed that 6.3million are having their wages subsidised by the state under the furlough scheme;
• The deputy chief medical officer raised hopes of an effective antibody test, saying the 'overwhelming majority' of recovered patients produced antibodies;
• Downing Street confirmed the Nightingale Hospital in London will be mothballed; 
• Legal firms have reporter a spike in the number of people looking to overturn safeguards which prevent them removing elderly residents from care facilities;
• Real-time traffic information shows increasing numbers of Britons are returning to the roads despite the lockdown still being firmly in place. 

One passenger on last Wednesday’s BA flight said the lack of distancing measures ‘makes a complete mockery of the lockdown rules’. 

They added: ‘There was no requirement to wear masks. Everyone was sitting within inches of their fellow passengers.’

Personal trainer Gemma Bain, 21, revealed people were also packed on to her Pegasus Airlines flight from Turkey to Stansted on Tuesday.

She said: ‘The crew had full protective kits on but we had nothing. It was really worrying. This was an emergency rescue flight but it seemed to pay no regard to Government guidelines.’ 

There are currently no rules on in-flight social distancing, but ministers are beginning to accept more stringent checks are needed at airports

Yesterday, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye has warned that the nation's major international airports do not have enough space for social distancing to be a solution for safe travel post-lockdown.

Mr Holland-Kaye has called on the Prime Minister to agree an 'international standard' with other world leaders which would include passenger health checks on departure.

Mandatory health checks for passengers including taking temperatures, increased levels of hygiene and compulsory facemasks are among the options floated by Mr Holland-Kaye in order to open the nation's airports as soon as possible and avoid 'massive job losses in our sector... (and) many other sectors that depend on us'.

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MailOnline has calculated what the queue for one jumbo jet could look like at Heathrow as the airport's boss warned that social distancing would be impossible if Britain wants a healthy aviation industry

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Heathrow's Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye has warned that there simply isn't enough space in airports to keep each passenger two metres apart

EasyJet is considering stripping out middle seats to enable social distancing, although industry leaders fear this could make flights unprofitable and lead to higher air fares. 

Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Shapps said he is 'actively looking at' quarantine requirements for foreign visitors, mirroring similar schemes that have been in place for weeks in dozens of other countries.

He said: 'I think it is important that as we are seeing the numbers decrease and the R rate we hope decrease... that we do ensure that the sacrifices in a sense - social distancing - that we are asking the British people to make are matched by anybody who comes to this country.

'I am actively looking at these issues right now so that when we have infection rates within the country under control we are not importing.'

In a statement, Aer Lingus said: 'In light of the unexpectedly high loads on the Belfast–London Heathrow service this morning and the level of demand for the route, Aer Lingus is reviewing its processes and procedures applicable to the operation of this service.

'The safety and security of Aer Lingus's customers and crew is our top priority and any process changes that are identified as being required will be implemented as a matter of urgency.'