NEW DELHI: Passengers arriving from at-risk countries at six major airports will have to pre-book RT-PCR tests from December 30. These airports are Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The civil aviation ministry said that the Air-Suvidha portal is being modified to facilitate mandatory pre-booking for RT-PCR tests for those arriving from these countries and those who have visited these countries in the last 14 days.
Many countries including India have recorded a gradual rise in Omicron cases of late.
Link to the concerned airport website would be provided in Air-Suvidha which would be displayed to passengers while filling up the self-declaration form (SDF), said an office memorandum issued by the ministry.
Besides, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been directed to issue an advisory to all airlines to check their passengers’ pre-booking of Covid-19 tests before they board the flight.
“If a passenger is having difficulty in pre-booking, they may not be denied boarding. However, the airline would be responsible for identifying and accompanying such passengers to the registration counter at the airport for testing,” it mentioned.
India’s at-risk list comprises a dozen countries at present. There are the UK, South Africa, Botswana, Brazil, China, Ghana, Hong Kong, Israel, Mauritius, New Zealand, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.