New Delhi/Bengaluru:
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.
Two of the three asymptomatic passengers who tested positive for the infection had travelled by Spicejet while one took a flight of Air India subsidiary Alliance Air.
Air carriers in the country have operated over 1,500 flights carrying over one lakh passengers during the first four days of operations after domestic services were resumed after a two month gap. Air services were suspended after the national lockdown came into force on March 25.
“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 safety of our passengers and staff,” according to a statement by IndiGo which gave details on the positive COVID-19 cases.
Three passengers who travelled on Delhi-Jammu flight on Tuesday, six passengers on Bengaluru-Coimbatore flight, two passengers on Delhi-Coimbatore flight and one passenger on Bengaluru-Madurai flight, all on Wednesday, tested positive for coronavirus, the airline said.
On Tuesday, IndiGo had said that a passenger who travelled from Chennai to Coimbatore on Monday evening tested positive for COVID-19. The passenger was the first to have tested positive after the resumption of domestic flights.
All the passengers who tested positive had observed all precautionary measures, including wearing face mask, face shield and gloves, like other travellers on the aircraft, it said.
“All our aircraft are regularly sanitized as a standard operating procedure, and the aircraft operating these flights were immediately disinfected as per protocol,” the airline added.
SpiceJet said on Wednesday that two of its passengers who travelled from Ahmedabad to Guwahati via Delhi on Monday tested positive for COVID-19.
Air India had also said on Wednesday that a passenger who was on an Alliance Air flight from Delhi to Ludhiana tested positive and a total of 41 people, including five crew members, had been quarantined. (PTI)
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