Nearly 40% of flyers at Chennai Airport opt for physical forms instead of Aarogya Setu app

The form asks for the passenger’s health status, recent travel history, destination and residential details.

Nearly 40% of passengers flying out of Chennai airport did not have the Aarogya Setu app and instead signed the self-declaration form before entering the departure terminal.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said staff were helping people with smartphone install and set up the app outside the terminal.

“But over the past few days, some didn’t carry a smartphone and others didn’t have a phone at all. In these cases, we guide them to fill up the form,” an official said.

The form asks for the passenger’s health status, recent travel history, destination and residential details.

Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri recently clarified that the app may not be mandatory for those who don’t have smartphones and as an alternative they can give a self-declaration form. AAI officials noted that they have seen several first-time flyers after the Chennai airport resumed domestic flight operations.

“We see hundreds of people stranded in the city for the last two months. So, there are many who use their savings or those who borrow a sum to buy a ticket and fly home because there are barely any options left. We have seen a lot of workers who came to the airport with tickets, desperate to return to the families,” another official said.