Hyderabad: Ahead of the planned relaxation of travel restrictions between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India, the international airports in Hyderabad and Mumbai are gearing up to it, reports said. The restrictions are in place until July 21.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai are reportedly preparing contingency measures by equipping with rapid PCR and lab testing in view of resumption of flights from UAE.
The UAE first suspended air travel to and from India in April as the latter battled a devastating second wave of COVID-19; the ban was later extended till July 6. According to the latest updates, flights from India to Dubai and Abu Dhabi are set to resume on July 15 and July 21.
The Mumbai airport is keeping its premises sanitized at all times and has also instituted a rapid PCR-testing facility, that provides results in just 13 minutes, reported Gulf News, citing an unnamed official of the Mumbai International Airport (MIA) familiar with the development.
“We also have a lab right inside the airport to help the passengers get the report at the earliest,” the report quoted the official as saying. “We already have the facilities at the departures as well as the arrivals and we have ample counters to meet requirements,” the airport official was quoted.
On the other hand, the Hyderabad airport, too, has partnered up with Mapmygenome, a COVID-19 testing lab certified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the report said, adding that the testing facility at the Hyderabad airport will operate 24 hours a day all seven days of the week.
There is no clarity yet on whether the India-UAE travel channel will once again be pushed back, the report mentioned, citing the airport spokesperson, who said that the reopening of the airline travel route will depend on timely clearance provided by the UAE government.