If I travel by air from Lucknow to Pune Corona test is required

PUNE: People reaching Maharashtra in flights connecting Delhi, Rajasthan, Goa and Gujarat will not have to carry with them the RT-PCR negative reports or undergo the test at the airports on arrival.

A representative of the city-based diagnostic centre conducting the tests on the arriving flyers at the airport told TOI that the decision was conveyed to them following a meeting between officials of the airport and various airline.

People boarding direct flights from these four states to Maharashtra will, however, have to undergo the test.

In response to a WhatsApp message sent to Pune airport director Kuldeep Singh on whether the state government had kept passengers reaching the city connecting the four states out of the RT-PCR test purview, he said, “Yes.”

The Centre on Wednesday requested the Maharashtra government not to introduce Covid tests for travellers from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa at airports and railway stations in the state before December 1. The government had on Monday stated that passengers flying in from the four states needed to carry a negative RT-PCR test report or get tested at the airports on arrival with effect from Wednesday.

A Pune airport official said it was pointless to conduct the tests on passengers reaching the state via connecting flights. “Consider a passenger has boarded a flight in Jammu, stops over in Delhi and comes to Pune. There are chances of the passenger coming in contact with a Covid-19 flyer at the Delhi airport. Now, even if the flyer from Jammu is tested for Covid-19 on arrival in Pune, the report will be negative because the symptoms of the infection will be manifested only after four to five days,” he said.

A large number of flyers reaching the city in connecting flights was seen seeking information on the Pune airport’s official Twitter page. “Do I need to carry a Covid negative report if I am travelling from Chandigarh to Pune and there is a halt of around 40 minutes at the Ahmadabad airport?” tweeted Sunny Sharma. The airport authorities answered to the queries stating that no report was required. Avinash Kumar, another flyer, asked, “Will a report be required if travelling from Kolkata to Pune with a 75-minute layover in Delhi?” The airport authorities answered in the negative