Tuesday, November 03, 2020

Flying to Dubai? Carry 'original' Covid report

Mangaluru: A group of passengers from Bhatkal experienced the perils of taking a flight to the Middle East without "original" Covid negative report after they were denied boarding at the Mangaluru International airport on Saturday last.

Airlines undertaking air bubble flights to the Middle East have been cagey ever since Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) suspended Air India Express operations for a fortnight after it allowed Covid +ve patients to travel to Dubai on one of its flights. The suspension was subsequently revoked by DCAA, after the airline apologized for the lapses assuring of multilevel strict checks.

The passengers, flying to reclaim their jobs, carried a printed copy given by Bhatkal Taluk Hospital mailed by Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences (KRIMS).

Ismail Nagar, who was denied boarding, told TOI: "We submitted swab samples at Bhatkal Taluk Hospital on October 29. We got the test result as negative the next day. The copy was downloaded, printed by the hospital. They assured us there would be no problem with these reports. A six passengers were denied boarding after airline checks on the ICMR website showed status as pending since the report we carried did not have enough seals to convince them that it was an authentic report," questioning who would pay for the expenses they incurred, plus the job loss, due to negligence by the lab officials. Sources at KRIMS said they upload results immediately after tests to ICMR website and blamed it on technical glitch.

Nagar, 37, came to Bhatkal on the last flight from Dubai in April. "We have been doing nothing since the past seven months. And after repeated calls, the company offered jobs back with 60-70% cut in salaries. Though what was offered was pittance, we thought we could make ends meet with overtime," he said, ruing the loss of close to Rs 13,000 per person, including flight and taxi charges.

03/11/20 Times of India


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