Hyderabad airport makes arrangements for passengers from 11 at-risk countries under fresh travel advisory from the Union government

Following a fresh travel advisory from the Union government in the wake of a rise in cases of infection by the Omicron strain, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here has made arrangements as per latest guidelines.

These include dedicated Covid-19 testing booths at the International Arrival Hall pre-immigration and thermal scanners at all arrival gates. All passengers have to go through the thermal screening process upon arrival at the airport, according to a note issued by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which manages RGIA.

Apart from appropriate signages at strategic locations to guide passengers, the airport has also enabled a pre-booking process for the passengers. Passengers can also pre book the test prior to the arrival, the link for which is available on the Hyderabad International Airport website www.hyderabad.aero and the designated lab’s website http://covid.mapmygenome.in.

The RT – PCR test costs Rs.750, with the waiting time for results being six hours, while the Rapid PCR test costs INR 3900, the waiting time for the result being two hours. Information has also been shared on the GHIAL



social media platforms, the note said.

RGIA has set up dedicated counters for passengers who have pre-booked their RT-PCR/Rapid PCR test. There will be dedicated queues for these passengers. They will save the time taken for registration and will proceed directly for testing, officials said.

Other arrangements include A dedicated waiting area with adequate seating arrangements for the arrival passengers and facilities of F & B, Forex exchange, payment counters, additional waiting area with necessary facilities for passengers with reduced mobility and Passenger Service Associates to help with documentation check during arrivals.

Officials said RGIA has 12 flights in a week from high-risk nations. British Airways operates 3 weekly direct flights while AI operates 2 weekly direct flights to London. Singapore Airlines operates thrice a week while Scoot operates 4 weekly direct flights to Singapore.

As of Sunday, a total of 1443 passengers have arrived from at-risk countries. 13 passengers tested positive and have been taken to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS), Gachibowli, the note added.