Dubai-bound passengers miss flight due to delay in Covid-19 test report

Dubai – Six passengers were barred from taking a flight to Dubai at India’s Mangaluru International Airport after their Covid-19 tests didn’t show up on the Covid War app. Authorities suspected the authenticity of the test reports.

The group, who were blue-collar workers from Bhatkal, Karnataka, insisted that their negative Covid-19 tests were authentic but officials at the airport were not convinced and didn’t allow them to board the flight, The New Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Authorities in Dubai have made it mandatory for passengers flying from India to carry a negative Covid-19 test. The passengers have to undergo another test upon arrival at Dubai International Airport.

A passenger, Ismail Nagar, told the Indian newspaper that it was not their fault as they had authentic negative tests and had also spent Rs9,000 on the air ticket.

Dr Harish Kumar, Deputy Commissioner at Uttara Kannada, said though the Covid-19 results on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) website are the legal standard, but the results should also reflect on the Covid War app.

“The Covid war app fetches results from the ICMR portal. There may be a delay in the results reflecting on the app. They could have accessed the results from the ICMR portal using Specimen Referral Form numbers,” Dr. Kumar was quoted as saying in The New Indian Express.

The Adani Group took charge of the airport on October 30 after it won the concession to operate, manage and develop Mangaluru International Airport.

• India