CHANDIGARH: As many as 125 passengers, who travelled on a chartered flight from Italy to Amritsar, have tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival. The flight with 179 passengers landed in Amritsar on Thursday.
Director of Amritsar Airport VK Seth told The New Indian Express that the chartered flight from Rome landed at the Amritsar International Airport at 11.20 am.
As per protocol, all the flyers except infants below five years were tested for Covid-19 from 12 pm. At 2:30 pm, the results came in and they showed that 125 passengers had tested positive.
"As many as 160 passengers were tested out of the total of 179 onboard and of these 125 were found to be Covid positive. The authorities concerned were informed and the infected passengers have been sent for institutional quarantine," Seth said and added that the rest of the flyers were asked to quarantine themselves at home.
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Many of the passengers were surprised to know of their test results and questioned the authorities saying that they had all tested negative before boarding the flight in Italy.
When asked how the flyers, who had tested Covid negative in Italy, got infected, Seth said he cannot comment on the test result but as per the guidelines their negative report was a must before boarding the flight.
The flight had only one stopover at Tbilisi in Georgia where it was refuelled, he added.
The relatives of some of the passengers, who had come to receive them at the airport, were disappointed as they were told as the passengers have tested Covid positive and would, therefore, quarantined. Later, the infected flyers left the airport in ambulances for institutional quarantine.
Sources said that the chartered flight was reportedly operated by EuroAtlantic Airways, a Portuguese company. The flight had halted in Tbilisi, Georgia, due to technical reasons. All adult passengers were tested on arrival as Italy is one of the high-risk countries for Omicron, according to the Union Health Ministry.