The majority of passengers aboard a flight from Italy to India tested positive for COVID-19 when the plane landed Thursday, January 6, 2022, — despite many getting negative results just before takeoff, according to reports.
Amritsar airport director VK Seth confirmed that 125 of 179 passengers tested positive for the bug when the plane landed about 1:30 p.m. local time, according to the Hindustan Times.
Many of the travelers wondered why they tested positive after receiving negative results in Italy.
The flight from Milan made a technical stopover in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on the way to India, New Delhi TV reported.
All the adult passengers were tested after arrival in Amritsar in Punjab because Italy is one of the high-risk countries for the Omicron variant, the news outlet reported.
All of the infected travelers were to be placed under quarantine.
Among the passengers on the chartered flight — operated by Portugal’s EuroAtlantic Airways — were 19 children or infants, who were exempt from RT-PCR testing at arrival, News 18 reported.
All of the infected travelers were to be placed under quarantine.
Among the passengers on the chartered flight — operated by Portugal’s EuroAtlantic Airways — were 19 children or infants, who were exempt from RT-PCR testing at arrival, News 18 reported.
Photographs from the airport show a large number of passengers waiting to leave as police try to control the crowd.
On Thursday, India reported more than 90,000 new COVID-19 cases, a 65 percent spike, amid a surge in Omicron cases.
