DIAL starts paid Covid-19 testing for those flying out of Delhi airport

Passengers flying out of Delhi can now get themselves tested for Covid-19 at the Delhi airport, the airport operator said Tuesday. Both domestic and international

Passengers flying out of Delhi can now get themselves tested for Covid-19 at the Delhi airport, the airport operator said Tuesday. Both domestic and international passengers can avail of the paid service. Until now, the facility was only available for incoming international passengers.

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Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which runs the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), said it has set up a Covid-19 sample collection booth in front of Gate Number 8 at the international departure of Terminal 3. The booth was set up on October 28 in association with Genestrings Diagnostic Centre Pvt Ltd, an ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)-approved laboratory, which is currently associated with Delhi government to test for Covid-19, DIAL said.

Rajat Arora, director, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, said they have increased the manpower of lab technicians at the facility in Delhi airport as the lab is expecting more number of samples in the coming days.

“The facility will be beneficial to those who are taking international or domestic flights but don’t have an RT-PCR test result. Such passengers can come to the airport around six hours early and get their Covid test done. They will have to pay ₹2,400 for the test and will get the result in four to six hours,” the airport operator said.

The DIAL statement said each counter can conduct up to 40 to 50 registrations per hour, and sample collection booths can collect approximately 120-130 samples an hour, it said.

DIAL said the lab will get a disclaimer signed from each passenger at the time of testing, wherein the passenger agrees to take full responsibility to follow all government-mandated laws, including quarantine, in case they test positive for the virus.

On September 12, DIAL had launched Covid-19 testing facility for arriving international passengers. The facility is set up at the multilevel parking lot near Terminal 3.