Within 10 days of the state government mandating the gold standard reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for arrivals from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa, passengers have raised concerns over the manner in which these tests are being conducted at the city airport.
Passengers have been complaining about chaos, violation of social distancing norms and delay in getting test reports from two to five days.
Malad resident Urvi Vora, who flew out of Mumbai for a week to celebrate her wedding anniversary, waited for three hours before her test was conducted on Thursday night. The couple decided not to get themselves tested from the source airport because of a higher cost and scepticism over the report’s authenticity.
“The (Mumbai) airport authority needs to ensure that they deploy adequate number of people around the testing counters to assist the entire RT-PCR process. We were all by our own for hours and there was utter chaos and confusion when we reached the arrivals area,” said Vora, adding, “Only one of the five desks were operational and no kits were available with the staff, leading to considerable delay.”
Airport sources said a group of passengers from Goa wanted to leave without the test.
{{/usCountry}}Airport sources said a group of passengers from Goa wanted to leave without the test.
{{/usCountry}}“As this group was standing in queue for a long time, they decided to leave the airport without getting tested. They created a ruckus, after which the local police were called to pacify them. They were allowed to leave the airport only after undergoing the test.”
Airport security officers said there have been instances where passengers have manhandled airport staff on the issue of testing.
An airport spokesperson said that the registration counters and the sample collection booths at the airport have been increased. “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) is continuously working to reduce the queuing time for the test. CSMIA has also introduced an additional testing facility to reduce the waiting time for the arriving passengers,” said the spokesperson.
CSMIA officials said passengers can scan quick response (QR) code (which is used for online registration) or take the assistance of the counter staff to fill-in the self-declaration form and proceed towards the testing facility at the government-approved rate of Rs1,400.
“BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officials stationed at the airport are ensuring that all arriving domestic passengers comply with the guidelines laid down by the state. Further, airlines have been requested to make available the QR code for the RT -PCR test before boarding the flight. Airlines have also been requested to ensure that in-flight announcements in this regard are mandatorily made,” said a CSMIA official.
Following Thursday’s chaos at the airport, Suburban Diagnostics, which is conducting the testing, had a meeting with CSMIA officials on Friday.
Sushant Kinra, chief executive officer of Suburban Diagnostics, said, “Usually, our waiting time for each passenger is 25-30 minutes. But the delay on Thursday could have been because of the change in the staff’s duty time. To avoid such a situation, we have now displayed QR codes more prominently and asked our staffers to give the options of filling passenger detail forms using tablets apart from the physical forms.”
He added, “Starting Friday, we have increased our counters from five to eight, and 32 people will be working in three shifts to ensure that sufficient staffers man the counters and help passengers. Instead of daily passes, we also have weekly airport entry passes in place now. This will save time by allowing the staffers to be at their work station on time.”
Passengers have claimed that these problems have been existing since the past few days.
For instance, Navi Mumbai resident Roshan Negi, who landed in Mumbai from Goa on November 30, said he and his wife voluntarily got themselves tested for Covid-19. But when they landed, testing counters were set up at places where they went unnoticed, owing to which many of their fellow passengers escaped the tests.
“Though we landed on Monday, we are yet to get our online report. We have been following up with pathology lab but it has been of no use. As a precautionary measure, we haven’t stepped out of our homes since Monday, but how long can we be at home?” asked Negi, adding, “Won’t the purpose of testing an arriving passenger for Covid-19 get defeated if a passenger is allowed to leave the airport without the report?”
Kinra did not comment on the delay in generating the test reports of passengers.
Mumbai’s CSMIA handles 150 departures and an equal number of arrivals each day. Top airport sources confirmed that only 3,355 passengers have undergone the RT-PCR test in the past eight days.
Airport sources revealed that passengers are trying to escape tests.
“There have been instances where passengers trying to sneak out have been asked to get the tests before leaving the arrivals area. However, this happens when passengers of only one flight are in the arrival area. In the situation where more than two flights land at a time, it gets difficult to keep an eye on every passengers’ movements and they are successful in leaving the airport without undergoing the RT-PCR test. Some passengers do not want to pay, while some others claim they can’t afford the test,” said the source.