Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has suspended Air India (AI) Express operations at Dubai airport. This decision was taken after the airline was found carrying a passenger who was COVID-19 positive.
The suspension starts from September 18 and will end on October 2. This suspension is valid for a total of 15 days.
According to the suspension notice, Air India Express was carrying the passenger on September 4. The passenger was on flight IX1135 and was traveling from Jaipur to Dubai. The authority has not revealed the identity of the passenger.
It was reported that the person had a positive test result at a diagnostic center in Jaipur. The passenger’s COVID-19 test result was issued on September 2.
UAE has a condition that passengers must have a COVID negative test report. According to sources, this is the second time that Air India Express flew a passenger with a COVID-19 positive report to Dubai.
Boarding a passenger with the infection for the second time is contrary to the procedure. It is also a violation of the procedure in the Emirates of Dubai during the pandemic.
Apart from the suspension, the AI Express airline will have to pay for all the expenditure for the medical services of the passenger. It also includes the quarantine period.
For resuming the services, the AI subsidiary will have to submit a detailed corrective action procedure to prevent such incidents.
This is the second time that Air India or its subsidiary was suspended for carrying passengers infected with COVID-19. On August 18, Hong Kong had also banned the AI airline from operating till August 31. Malaysia had also barred Indians from entering starting from September 7.
Dubai is one of the busiest destinations for passengers from India.
Also Read: ‘Game of Loans’- a Sleep Pill to Assam