18 flyers who flew in last 3 days test positive for Covid-19, say airlines

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NEW DELHI: At least 18 flyers who flew on different domestic routes of two airlines in the last three days have tested positive for coronavirus, airlines confirmed on Thursday. All crew members of these airlines are currently in quarantine.

Of the 18, 12 passengers who tested positive for Covid-19 were on IndiGo flights that flew on May 26 and 27. The passengers were asymptomatic and the operating crew of three flights have now been quarantined for a period of 14 days, according to the airline. At least six passengers on a TruJet flight from Chennai to Salem in Tamil Nadu have also tested positive on Thursday, say officials.

At least five of these IndiGo cases were passengers who flew from the Delhi airport, flying to Jammu on May 26 and to Coimbatore on May 27, while six were those who flew on a flight from Coimbatore on May 27. “An asymptomatic passenger who travelled on IndiGo on 6E 7214 from Bangalore to Madurai on May 27, 2020 was discovered to be Covid-19 positive during the mandatory testing at the quarantine facility in Madurai on 27th May,” a release from the airline said.

“A few asymptomatic passengers who travelled on IndiGo flights were discovered to be Covid-19 positive on May 28, 2020. This included three passengers on 6E 955 from Delhi to Jammu on May 26, 2020, six passengers onboard 6E 6992 from Bengaluru to Coimbatore on May 27, 2020 and two passengers on 6E 908 from Delhi to Coimbatore on May 27, 2020,” said an IndiGo spokesperson, stating all passengers had observed precautionary measures, including face masks, face shield and gloves like other passengers on-board the aircraft.

“All our aircraft are regularly sanitised as a standard operating procedure and the aircraft operating these flights were immediately disinfected as per protocol. The operating crew has been home quarantined for 14 days and we are in the process of notifying other passengers as per the government guidelines, to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff,” said IndiGo in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier, two passengers on a SpiceJet flight SG-8194 (Ahmedabad to Delhi) and SG-8152 (Delhi to Guwahati) were tested positive after journeys on May 25. IndiGo had also seen a Covid-19 positive case on Tuesday, when a passenger tested positive after travelling on the Chennai to Coimbatore flight.

A positive case on an Air India Delhi to Ludhiana flight was also found on Tuesday, the airline had informed.

Domestic operations have resumed on Monday after a period of almost two months, which saw flight operations halted completely after the lockdown was implemented. On Thursday, flight operations resumed on West Bengal as well, where airports had remained shut since Monday due to relief work after cyclone Amphan impacted the region.