New COVID-19 strain: RT-PCR test compulsory for air travellers both in UK, India

NEW DELHI: With flights resuming operation from the United Kingdom amid the scare of the new Covid-19 strain, passengers will have to undergo an RT-PCR test both in the UK before boarding their flight and after arriving in India.

In a set of passenger advisory guidelines, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on Friday said that passengers will have to upload their negative RT-PCR test report via 'Air Suvidha Portal' on the airport's official website before boarding in the UK.

"The RT-PCR must be conducted within 72 hours before undertaking the journey," the guidelines stated, adding that passengers taking the test at the Airport will have to shell out Rs 3,400 for a test and lounge.

It may take up to 10 hours for the test results at IGI's Terminal 3.

After the RT-PCR test in Delhi, all passengers will have to undergo seven days of institutional quarantine, followed by seven at home.

Flights from the United Kingdom resumed on Friday in a limited capacity. Thirty flights will operate each week - 15 each by Indian and UK carriers. This schedule will continue till January 23, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had informed earlier.

The ban on flights to the UK was lifted on January 6.

A total of 82 persons were found with the new mutant variant of coronavirus so far, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Friday.

"The total number of cases infected with the new strain of the novel coronavirus, first reported in the UK, now stands at 82," the Ministry said in a statement.