Bengaluru: A four-year-old boy, a citizen of the United States, was forced to take the Covid-19 test at Kempegowda Bengaluru International Airport (KIA) after land staff from the domestic airline refused to allow him to accompany his parents on vacation to Port Blair without a negative report.
This is in a violation of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and the welfare of the United States, which states that those under five years old are released from pre-departure and post-arrival tests and show a lack of awareness about the Covid-19 protocol among the airlines.
staff.
Rajdeep Ganguly, an IT top engineer with a big computer chipmaker, wife and four-year-old son, all US passport holders and residents of Koramangala, decided to go on vacation to Port Blair in Andaman and the Nicobar Islands.
He booked a ticket at GO First Airways (previously up air) and they were scheduled to fly out of Kia on flight G8 1802 on November 27.
The family arrived at the airport at 8 in the morning and was in a rough shake when going on a check-in counter demanded RPCR negative report for their son.
Ganguly and his wife are fully vaccinated and, according to the rules, do not require negative test reports.
“I explained to the airline staff who were protocoled by the Ministry of Health, which specifically released children under the age of five from the RPCR test, but he refused to listen.
He roughly answered that ‘if the boy tested negatively, he flew With you, “said Ganguly.
Parents demand that they be shown clauses in the rules book mandating the test, but the airline staff refused to listen.
Ganguly also contacted Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd to ensure doubled if his son needed a negative report.
When they landed in Port Blair that day, they were told that the test was “no need”.
With the Go First Ground staff refused to budge and ran out, the 43-year-old father rushed with the boy to the Covid Research Covid test center outside the airport.
Pantifying their fate, some leaflets allow them to jump the queue and the child takes a fast PCR test.
The duo then ran back to the airport to collect negative report prints.
The family was in another shock when they handed over the results to the ground staff.
“Go First Manager did not even bother seeing the results but checking the receipt of the test payment for Rs 3,000 and directed us towards the hostel.
There was another family at the time with unhealthy children, but the airline staff did not pend it too,” added IT engineers .
Responding to this problem, said the first spokesman, all passengers flying to Andaman except babies under one year need RT-PCR test reports that are no more than 48 hours in accordance with Andaman and Nicobar administration orders on December 23, 2020 and this guideline has been mentioned at Airline portal.
However, the order of 2020 from the Union region failed to determine the guidelines for children, the circulation of family health and welfare was issued on November 11, 2021 children under the age of five were released from the RT-PCR test for travel.