16 Passengers In IndiGo, Other Airlines Test Positive For Covid-19 After Resumption Of Domestic Air Travel

Ever since domestic air travel restarted from May 27, over 16 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus despite stringent precautionary measures.

New Delhi: The ongoing fourth phase of a lockdown or Lockdown 4.0 saw many relaxations in activities unlike the previous three. One of the major reprieves was restarting domestic air travel which began from May 25. But despite taking several precautionary measures there have been reports of corona positive people traveling in flights.

As per a PTI report,  a total of 16 asymptomatic passengers on seven different flights including 13 of them who travelled by IndiGo have tested positive for COVID-19 since the resumption of domestic air services on Monday, according to airlines data.

According to reports, low-cost airline IndiGo said that around 12 passengers so far have tested positive for coronavirus. In a report by PTI, the airline said that these included ‘three individuals, who travelled from Delhi to Jammu on May 26, six who travelled from Bengaluru to Coimbatore on May 27, another from Delhi to Coimbatore on May 27 and one passenger in a flight from Bengaluru to Madurai on May 27. Apart from this, the airline reported a case earlier of a passenger travelling from Chennai to Coimbatore.

‘A few asymptomatic passengers who traveled on IndiGo flights were discovered to be Covid-19 positive on May 28, 2020,’ the airline said in a statement.

The airline said in a statement that all precautionary measures were undertaken by the airline staff and passengers including quarantine protocols.

“The passengers observed all precautionary measures including a face mask, face shield, and gloves, like other passengers onboard 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,’ the airline said in a statement.

This news comes after two passengers onboard a Spicejet flight travelling from Ahmedabad to Guwahati via Delhi on May 25 and one passenger in Air India’s Alliance Air Delhi-Ludhiana flight was found coronavirus positive.