Disorder, no social distancing, long wait times: Day 1 of increased testing at IGI Airport off to bumpy start

Long lines, crowded lounges, unclear instructions and costly Covid tests — these were some of the complaints passengers from ‘at risk’ countries landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport had on Wednesday morning, as new guidelines came into effect against the backdrop of the new Covid variant.

Under the guidelines, all passengers coming from ‘at-risk’ countries have to compulsorily undergo RT-PCR tests and five per cent of passengers arriving from other countries would have to take the test on a random basis.

The passengers will have to wait for the results before leaving the airport or taking a connecting flight.

Airport officials said that more than 1,700 passengers were screened at the Terminal 3 of the airport on Wednesday.

Suman Sharma (63) went to London to visit her daughter. She landed at 2.00am from London and had to wait for four hours at the airport to get her RT PCR report.

Among them was Suman Sharma (62), who went to London a month ago to visit her daughter. On Wednesday, she travelled back to Delhi and landed around 2 am. She said she had to wait for four hours at the airport to get the RT-PCR test done. “I was scared when I was in the lounge because of the crowd. I had already spent a lot of money on a Covid test in London and didn’t want to waste more money. Airport officials didn’t guide us properly. I was tired and had to wait for hours to get the test done. We had no food and water. I left as soon as I got my report, which was negative,” she said.

According to airport officials, there are two testing options: The first is to pay Rs 500 for the test. The test results takes around six hours. The second is to pay Rs 3,900 for a rapid RT-PCR test and get the report in approximately 90 minutes.

A UK-national who did not wish to be identified said outside the airport, “It was during boarding time in London that they told us about the guidelines in India. When we landed here, officers started giving us different instructions. There was so much chaos because some people were angry that they would have to pay more for tests. We paid close to 8,000 for the rapid tests. My friend and I waited for some time and got in line. It took an hour to get the test done. Also, the test results were being sent by mail but we didn’t have an internet connection. I had to beg an old woman to give her cell phone so I could download my test result and get out.”

Karamveer (22) with his father Jagjir Singh (51). They landed from London. They paid close to 100 pounds in UK for RT PCR tests. They said the situation inside is bad with no food and water being provided to passengers. They had to pay close to Rs 3k for RT PCR tests.

Aditi Sehgal, a student, said, “The flight landed at 3.30-4 am. It was absolute chaos, with everyone violating social distancing as airport authorities tried to guide us. We were huddled together. There were people who couldn’t afford the rapid test and stayed for 4-6 hours. Also, we faced issues while paying. The officials only had one card machine. I left the lounge at 7 am.”

Karamveer, another passenger who landed on Wednesday morning, said, “I went to London to meet my uncle and paid £100 for the RT-PCR test there. The situation inside the airport was bad, with no food and water services for passengers. We couldn’t even charge our phones to call our families. My father and I opted for the RT-PCR tests.”

An airport official said “More than 1,700 passengers came from the UK and other ‘at risk’ countries from today. We made arrangements for all of them. There were some issues, but things were smooth. Everyone was tested and provided with seating arrangements. We made sure to follow government guidelines and ensured travellers are comfortable. We can’t control the costs; these are decided by labs and the government.”

Airport officials had Tuesday said they have made seating arrangements for 1,200-1,400 people as they wait, and that around 600 samples can be collected per hour.