Keypoints:
- This news comes after Maharashtra government decided to extend lockdown in the state despite the declining numbers of fresh Covid cases.
- In an order, BMC has said that authorities from Mumbai airport and airlines will not insist the passengers to undergo the RT-PCR test.
On Monday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said in an order that authorities from Mumbai airport and airlines will not insist the passengers to undergo RT-PCR test. RT-PCR test is a quick way to find out if a person is Covid positive. This new directive is effective immediately. Domestic passengers who arrive at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from airports WITHIN Maharashtra have been exempted from RT-PCR test upon landing in the city.
“All domestic air passengers originating from airports located within Maharashtra to Mumbai are exempted from RT-PCR test requirement upon landing in Mumbai. All domestic air passengers traveling from Mumbai airport to airports located within Maharashtra, airport operator / airlines shall not insist on RT-PCR test,” read the new directive.
CSMIA had issued an official statement in May, making it mandatory for all domestic passengers arriving in the city to present a negative RT-PCR test report at the time of boarding a flight. The RT-PCR test should have been done within 48 hours of the scheduled time of landing at the Mumbai airport. The ones without RT-PCR reports were not allowed to board flights, the order had stated.
These rules were enforced after BMC had written a letter to airline station managers and CEOs of various airlines including Go Air, Indigo, Vistara, SpiceJet, etc. It had directed them to mention the government directives about mandatory negative RT-PCR test on the flight tickets.
On Sunday, Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray has said that despite the decreasing number of cases and a 92 per cent recovery rate, the number of Covid patients in the state remained high. He also added that many parts of the state, specially the rural areas, continues to see high numbers and there would be tightening of restrictions in these places, while places where the positivity rate had dropped below 10 per cent — including Mumbai — could see some relaxations.
