Delhi govt orders FIR against four airlines for not checking negative RT-PCR reports of flyers from Maharashtra
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has ordered lodging of FIRs against four airlines — IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet, AirAsia India — for allegedly not checking the RT-PCR negative reports of passengers flying from Maharashtra to the capital.
Airlines, on their part, said they adhere to all norms and had not received any FIR till Sunday evening.
The Delhi government has mandated airlines should check Covid negative reports of flyers from Maharashtra. Airlines, on their part, said they adhere to all norms and had not received any FIR till Sunday evening.
“…it has been observed that a large number of passengers are flying from Maharashtra to Delhi without a valid RT-PCR report…. written to SHO of IGI Airport to lodge FIRs against four flights (possibly one each by) Indigo, Spice Jet, Vistara and Air Asia… for carrying passengers from Maharashtra without valid RT-PCR tests,” Delhi government said in a statement Sunday. This action has been sought under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Delhi requires people flying in from Maharashtra to have a negative RT-PCR report from a test done within 72 hours of departure, and those coming without the same must remain in quarantine for 14 days.
An IndiGo spokesperson said the airline has not “received any FIR against it…” while AirAsia India said in a statement it is in “compliance with guidelines and protocols issued by the respective regulatory bodies"
"… we have not received any information from any authority on this matter (FIR),” it said. Comments from Vistara and SpiceJet are awaited.
In this ever-evolving pandemic situation, airlines have had their own issues with RT-PCR test reports. In the past few months, there have been several instances of airlines globally being barred from flying to certain places for bringing in passengers with negative reports who test positive on arrival. A few Indian carriers have also come under the scanner in places like UAE and Hong Kong. Tamil Nadu had barred a UAE budget carrier for flying in passengers for some days after a person flew in with a negative report but was actually positive.
Since RT-PCR tests need to be undertaken 3-4 days before departure, there is a possibility of passengers getting infected sometime after giving nasal swab samples. This discrepancy pin test report and actual Covid status was found to be very high with reports from certain labs in India. After that UAE, for instance, barred airlines from flying in people from India with reports from some labs here. A leading Dubai-based airline's website says, “If you are flying from India, Pakistan, Nigeria or Bangladesh, you must get your certificate from one of the labs listed in the designated laboratories document to be accepted on the flight (to Dubai).”
18/04/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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