MUMBAI: Over 2.2 lakh passengers underwent the RT-PCR test at the Mumbai airport in the past 6 months out of which 1480 tested positive, said Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).
In February, about 81,000 passengers registered for the test as compared to 1700 in September last year, which was when the facility for these
tests were launched at the airport.
The demand for these tests has only gone up with the recent lot of restrictions. Currently, all international arriving passengers transiting from Mumbai have to undergo the test.
Among these, passengers from Brazil, South Africa and UK must wait at the airport for their test result before they can board their onward domestic flight to their final destination. Passengers from Europe and Middle East can proceed with their journey post submission of their sample, said MIAL.
Domestic passengers from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala and Rajasthan who land in Mumbai without this test have to undergo it at the airport. When first introduced, the testing facility was available only for arriving passengers, but a month later it was extended to departing passengers and also those without an air ticket, like those who came to the airport to drop or receive passengers.
``Currently, the Mumbai airport hosts three facilities at its Terminal 2 located at Level 2 Arrival Exit near Gate B, Level 2 Airside corridor, and Level 4 Departure on the curbside opposite Gate 2. The testing facilities are handled by Suburban Diagnostics, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, Lifenity Wellness International Limited and Mylab Dicovery Solutions Pvt Ltd, respectively,’’ said MIAL.
The airport has over 30 counters of testing facilities set up for international and domestic passengers, including those equipped with molecular testing facilities that offer passengers the option to process their test results in 13 minutes post sample collection. The regular test that provides results within 8 hours cost Rs 850, while the express test that gives a result in 13 minutes is priced at Rs 4500.
As per the latest directive from the government, passengers arriving or transiting from flights originating from United Kingdom (UK), Europe, Middle East, Brazil and South Africa with a final destination in
Maharashtra will have to observe a compulsory institutional quarantine of 7 days at a state-designated facility irrespective of a negative report pre-boarding.
All other international arriving passengers will have to provide proof of a negative report of a test undertaken 72 hours prior to the arrival. ``Alternatively they can opt to undergo the molecular test on arrival at the airport, wherein post submitting the test sample they can proceed with their journey and receive their reports in 8 hours,’’ said MIAL.