RT-PCR test report before boarding puts flyers in spot

RT-PCR test report before boarding puts flyers in spot

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai:29.06.2021

State governments insisting on RT-PCR test report at the time of boarding flights is creating a hassle for passengers when the flight gets cancelled or rescheduled to another day.

Recently, passengers of a Chennai-Mumbai flight scheduled to depart on Sunday that got cancelled had to take the test again spending ₹1,500 as the airline said the earlier test will not be valid for the flight that was rescheduled for Monday.

Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Goa and Andaman and Nicobar Islands want arriving passengers to have an RT-PCR test report with them when they arrive by flights. However, a few say do not board passengers at origin airports while a few test the people who arrive without a report. The rules and timeline for the test are not standard which creates confusion among passengers.

Maharashtra has instructed airlines that they should not board passengers if they do not have RT-PCR negative report issued from up to a maximum of 48 Hours before the time of arrival into Mumbai. Other states say that swabs should be taken 48hours before. Chandigarh says that swabs should be taken 72 hours before arrival at the destination.

Srinivasan Jambunathan, said that "My wife and child had to spend again for an RT-PCR test. The flight was on Sunday. They had given swab samples on Friday evening and a negative report was issued on Saturday morning. But the flight got cancelled and the next flight was on Monday but the airline said that a fresh report needed to be presented. We spent ₹3,100 again for the test for two people."

He said the airline staff told the swab samples should be given 48hours before.

Gurmukh Singh Bawa of Air Travellers Association said passengers face inconvenience due to these rules. "I have seen this happen on international flights too where airline staff will say that your certification is 10 minutes late etc. There should be standardised rules. We have written to the government to make the rules standard and that there should be a common platform online where domestic passengers will be able to see all the information on travel rules."

An AAI official said the issue has not come out much in Chennai because flight cancellations are rare as services are fewer and airlines schedule services carefully.