UAE-India flights : Airline issues COVID guidelines for travellers
This comes in light of revised protocols issued by the Indian ministry of civil aviation last week
Air India Express on Tuesday issued guidelines for the maintenance of COVID-appropriate behaviour by passengers travelling from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India.
According to the recommendations:
All guests should preferably be fully vaccinated as per the approved primary schedule of vaccination against COVID-19 in their country.
All guests should preferably use masks and follow physical distancing on flights/ travel and at all points of entry.
All guests should self-monitor their health post-arrival and shall report to their nearest health facility or call the national helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number in case they have any symptoms.
However, the guidelines posted on their Twitter account stated that post-arrival random testing is not required for children under the age of 12.
The children are only required to undergo testing and get treatment in accordance with the protocol if they are discovered to be symptomatic for COVID-19 upon arrival or during the time of self-monitoring.
“Children under 12 years of age are exempted from post-arrival random testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival or during the period of self-monitoring, they shall undergo testing and be treated as per the protocol,” the advisory by Air India Express read.
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday said that at least two per cent of the arriving passengers on international flights to the country will have to undergo random sampling as part of a precautionary measure for COVID-19.
The MoCA in an official statement said that the passengers are to be identified by the airline and will be allowed to leave the airport after sample collection. Those being tested positive for the infection will be isolated and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing.
“This arrangement should come into practice with effect from 10:00 am on December 24,” as per the statement.
Last week Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Lok Sabha said that the government has started random RT-PCR sampling among the passengers arriving at International airports in the country amid the recent surge of Coronavirus infection in various countries including China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States.
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also issued ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the guidelines will be reviewed and revised from time to time.
The Air India Express, headquartered in Kochi, Kerala is notably, India’s first international budget carrier, offering connectivity to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is run by Air India Express Limited, a fully-owned division of Air India, the national carrier of India.
