Maharashtra grants exemption to cabin, cockpit crew from mandatory Covid-19 test

The decision comes after national carrier Air India wrote to the state government seeking exemption from the tests as they operate daily passenger and cargo flights to and from the state.

The Maharashtra government has granted special exemption to cabin and cockpit crew of all airlines at all airports in the state from undergoing the mandatory reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for Covid-19 detection.

The decision comes after national carrier Air India wrote to the state government seeking exemption from the tests as they operate daily passenger and cargo flights to and from the state. Air India spokesperson confirmed that the airline had requested Maharashtra government to exempt their crew members from RT-PCR tests.

The notice issued to all the municipal collectors by the state government on Wednesday read, “The state government has received requests from Air India stating that it is operating Vande Bharat flights and various cargo flights in and out of Maharashtra on daily basis.”

The state government observed that RT-PCR test, which has been made compulsory for all persons arriving at the airports, leads to delay in scheduling of flights. The government, hence, decided to exempt all the crew from this test.

The national carrier is currently operating around 42 daily flights to and from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

“All on-duty cockpit and cabin crew of all the airlines carrying valid identity cards be exempted from RT-PCR test at all airports in Maharashtra subject to following of all necessary Covid-related protocols by the respective airlines in the said regard,” read the government’s notice.

Passengers arriving in to Mumbai and other cities in the state, however, were confused about the new state norms on RT-PCR tests. Twitter was flooded with passengers’ doubts to CSMIA officials and airlines. While some enquired if the test could be done on arrival at Mumbai, others asked if passengers booked on connecting flights from Mumbai also needed to undergo the Covid-19 test.

Airport sources said that few arriving passengers faced issues after landing in Mumbai. However, despite repeated attempts, CSMIA officials did not gave details of number of passengers screened or the issues faced by them during the RT-PCR process.