Govt asks airlines to alter check-in systems amid new Covid-19 norms

The aviation ministry directed airlines to issue boarding passes to only those passengers who submit a self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha portal.

The civil aviation ministry on Friday directed airlines to modify their check-in systems for international passengers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, as part of new Covid-19 rules that require a negative test report for such arrivals.

Passengers undergo thermal screening at the IGI airport. (ANI)

The civil aviation ministry’s directive came a day after the health ministry mandated negative Covid RT-PCR reports for passengers prior to departure, a decision sparked by the rising number of cases in many of these regions, especially China.

The aviation ministry directed airlines to issue boarding passes to only those passengers who submit a self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha portal.

In a statement, it said the decision “will be reviewed, if needed, as per the prevailing situation.”

“In the context of the evolving trajectory of Covid-19 cases in some countries, especially China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan, and reports regarding circulation of variants of SARS-CoV-2 in these countries, it has been decided that the existing guideline for international arrivals needs to be revised and updated,” the statement said.

The ministry reiterated health minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s directive that RT-PCR tests will have to be conducted within 72 hours of undertaking the journey to India.

“Airlines are directed to modify their check-in functionalities to incorporate the changes and issue boarding passes only to those international passengers travelling from the six countries who have submitted self-declaration forms on the Air Suvidha portal,” it added.

The aviation ministry also said the existing practice of collecting random 2% samples from each flight for RT-PCR testing of international passengers arriving in the country, irrespective of their port of departure, will continue.