Submit self-declaration form 3 weeks prior to departure date: Govt to passengers

New Delhi, July 12: The Civil Aviation Ministry has told the airlines that passengers who submit a self-declaration form that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 during the three weeks prior to the departure date are allowed to take their flight, officials said.

On May 21, the government had made it mandatory for all passengers to submit the self-declaration form before a flight stating that they did not test positive for COVID-19 during two months prior to the departure date.

The officials told PTI that as there are a large number of people in India now who have recovered from the deadly virus, a need was felt to update the self-declaration form to avoid any hardships to them.

Therefore, a few days back, the government told the airlines that passengers need to give a declaration that "they have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the last three weeks" prior to the flight, the officials said.

"Persons who have recovered from COVID-19 and who fulfil the three-week criteria will be allowed to travel by flights if they show a COVID-recovery or COVID-discharge certificate from their hospital," they mentioned.

Out of around 8.2 lakh people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in India till now, around 5.15 lakh have recovered. This means the recovery rate is around 63 per cent. More than 22,000 people have died due to the virus in the country. India resumed domestic passengers flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country.