Covid-19: Mandatory institutional quarantine for fliers from Middle East, Europe, says Mumbai airport official

Adhering to the latest directive issued by the Government of India (GoI) and the state government of suspending all flights to and from the United Kingdom, Chhatrapati

Adhering to the latest directive issued by the Government of India (GoI) and the state government of suspending all flights to and from the United Kingdom, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Tuesday announced changes for the passengers travelling via the airport.

Four flights landed at CSMIA on Monday. These included one from Amsterdam and three from London, totally carrying over 690 passengers. (HT Photo)

After the state government announced mandatory quarantine rules, CSMIA said that all passengers arriving from the Middle East and European countries, irrespective of their further travel plans, will be subjected to mandatory institutional quarantine.

“Any passenger identified as being symptomatic on arrival will be transferred to designated Covid facility for further evaluation. Passengers arriving from these regions will be transported by state officials to nearby hotels of their preference to undergo institutional quarantine for seven days at their own cost,” said CSMIA spokesperson.

As per the guidelines, instead of undergoing a test at the airport, passengers will have to undergo the RT-PCR test during the fifth or seventh day of the institutional quarantine at the hotel at their own cost. Passengers with a negative test report will be discharged to observe home quarantine for seven days and passengers with the positive report will be directed to continue to quarantine at the same hotel or in a state-designated Covid-19 facility for 14 days.

“Effective, December 22, 2020, until January 5, 2021, concerning the night curfew from 11pm to 6am, all operations at CSMIA will continue as scheduled. Passengers travelling to and from the airport during the specified hours will be allowed to proceed onwards, as cab services and public transportation will remain operational at all time,” added the airport spokesperson.

Four flights landed at CSMIA on Monday. These included one from Amsterdam and three from London, totally carrying over 690 passengers. While no flights operated to or from London on Tuesday, December 22, five flights arrived and eight departed to Dubai and one departed to Doha on Tuesday.