New Delhi, September 12
Delhi airport started its COVID-19 test facility on arrival on Saturday, in which an international passenger can pay 5,000 rupees to take advantage of an RT-PCR test and also use the waiting room, said senior officials from its DIAL operator. .
The Civil Aviation Ministry had said on September 2 that international passengers, who must take connecting domestic flights after landing in India, will have the option to get tested for COVID-19 at the inbound airports.
Passengers who opt for the test will have to wait in a specific lounge at the airport or at a designated hotel in the city until their results arrive, the ministry said. If negative, they will be exempt from mandatory institutional quarantine and can take the connecting flight.
“The COVID-19 test at the airport will cost 2,400 rupees. The waiting room charges are 2,600 rupees, ”said an official from Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
The results of the RT-PCR test will be declared within 4-6 hours after the sample is collected, the official said.
Currently, the specified waiting room established at the Delhi airport has a capacity to handle 100 passengers at a time, another DIAL official said. All seats have been arranged in the waiting room taking into account the criteria of social distancing.
“This capacity can be easily expanded as the number of international passengers arriving increases,” said the official.
Currently, the Delhi airport handles between 7,000 and 8,000 international passengers arriving per day, the official said.
The DIAL began COVID-19 testing facilities on Saturday in the multi-level car parking area of Terminal 3 in collaboration with the Genestrings Diagnostic Center.
In a statement, the DIAL said that passengers will need to provide their name, contact details and valid proof of identity in their online application for COVID-19 testing at Delhi Airport.
“They will also have the option to modify the schedule in case they cannot communicate at the scheduled time for the appointment. Furthermore, passengers belonging to the same family can reserve a single space all together online, ”the press release states.
Under government rules, all arriving international passengers must undergo a mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine followed by a seven-day home quarantine.
However, if an arriving international passenger has a negative COVID certificate from an RT-PCR test performed 96 hours prior to travel, they are exempt from mandatory institutional quarantine.
In the event that an arriving international passenger, who has to take a connecting domestic flight, does not have a negative COVID certificate, he or she has the option of being tested at the COVID-19 testing facility at the entrance. airport. If the result is negative, the passenger can go and board their connecting domestic flight.
Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the lockdown caused by the coronavirus.
However, special international passenger flights have been operating in India under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral air bubble agreements formed between India and other countries since July. – PTI
