Chandigarh airport: International passengers to undergo RT-PCR test on arrival

Chandigarh international airport has started conducting RT-PCR tests of all passengers arriving from 12 high-risk countries —UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel

With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreading across the world, Chandigarh international airport has started conducting RT-PCR tests of all passengers arriving from 12 high-risk countries —UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.

In September this year, Chandigarh International Airport had established an RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) lab on the airport premises. (HT File)

In addition to this, passengers will have to undergo home quarantine for seven days and another test on the eight day. If found negative, they will have to be on self-health monitoring for the next seven days and if tested positive for the new variant, strict isolation and treatment protocol is to be followed till being tested negative.

In September this year, Chandigarh International Airport had established an RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) lab on the airport premises. The lab provides travellers their Covid-19 test results in less than 30 minutes. Each test will cost ₹1,727. The lab has been set up in line with the guidelines issued by the UAE government, which include mandatory testing of all passengers who need to present their report on arrival.

Ajay Bhardwaj, chief executive officer, Chandigarh International Airport Limited, said, “We are following the government of India’s instructions. At present, we have only one international flight from Sharjah. We will be conducting the RT-PCR test of all international passengers coming from high-risk countries. As far as the passengers from low-risk countries are concerned, we will conduct an RT-PCR test of 5% passengers only. Those testing positive will be sent to designated Covid centres.”

Nodal officer for Covid-19 in Mohali, Dr Harmandeep Kaur Brar said, “Our health teams are conducting tests of all passengers of Sharjah flight while other international passengers are screened by the airport authority.”

In the winter schedule (from October 31 to March 27, 2022), the number of flights operating from the Chandigarh International Airport has gone up to 43, which is the same as the pre-pandemic times. However, the Dubai flight has not been listed in the schedule, leaving just one international destination- Sharjah.