Air India Express issues Covid guidelines for travelers from UAE to India

Air India Express guidelines state that random post-arrival testing of children is not required.

Kochi:

Air India Express on Tuesday issued guidelines for passengers traveling from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India to maintain Covid-related behaviour.

The advice advises all visitors to be fully immunized preferably according to the main schedule of vaccinations against Covid-19 approved in their country. Other precautions to take when traveling include the use of masks and physical distancing.

“All guests are advised to be vaccinated according to their country’s approved main COVID-19 vaccination schedule. All guests are advised to use masks and practice physical distancing during flight/travel and all points of entry,” tweeted Air India Express, official Twitter handle special.

Air India Express, headquartered in Cochin, Kerala, is India’s first international low-cost airline, offering connections to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is operated by Air India Express Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, India’s national carrier.

However, the guidelines state that post-arrival random testing is not required for children under the age of 12.

If children are found to have symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival or during self-monitoring, they will only need to be tested and treated as per protocol.

“Children under the age of 12 are exempt from random testing upon arrival. However, if symptoms of COVID-19 are detected on arrival or during self-monitoring, they should be tested and treated as per protocol,” the Air India Express advisory reads.

Passengers on at least 2 percent of international flights arriving in the country will have to undergo random sampling as part of precautionary measures against Covid-19, the United Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said on Thursday.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said in an official statement that the passengers’ identities will be determined by the airlines and they will be allowed to leave the airport after taking samples. Those who test positive for the infection will be quarantined and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, “this arrangement should start at 10:00 am on December 24.”

Last week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in the Lok Sabha that due to the recent surge in coronavirus infections in several countries including China, Japan, South Korea, France, the government has started random RT-PCR sampling of passengers arriving at the country’s international airports, and America.

At the same time, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union Health and Family Welfare Department has also published “Guidelines for International Arrivals”, which it says will be reviewed and revised from time to time.

(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)