Updated: 02-01-2022
From January 3, the West Bengal government will ban all international direct flights from the United Kingdom to Kolkata. COVID cases in the state have recently increased suddenly.
According to reports, the suspension order will remain in effect until further notice. A mandatory COVID-19 test will be administered to all international passengers at the airport.
It is already required of all tourists arriving from ‘at risk’ countries to undergo the same testing upon arrival at other Indian airports, and even those arriving from ‘not at risk’ countries will be required to perform the same test upon arrival at the Kolkata airport at their own expense.
Additionally, airlines will randomly select 10% of the passengers for RT-PCR testing, while the remaining 90% will have to undergo Rapid Antigen Testing at the airport upon arrival, as per a new directive from the government for international passengers.
According to reports, the COVID-19 situation in West Bengal deteriorated suddenly, with Kolkata emerging as one of the districts of concern. On Wednesday, Kolkata reported 540 new COVID cases, while the state reported 1089 cases overall.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said that most cases of Omicron are detected in passengers arriving from the United Kingdom. As a result, the Centre must decide whether to restrict flights from countries with high levels of Omicron.
