A British tourist, who was tested positive for the virus, boarded the Kochi-Dubai Emirates flight on 15th March (Sunday) causing a 3 hour delay.
As first reported by thenational.ae, this British tourist, along with his wife and 17 others, were holidaying in a hill resort town in Kerala. He was later placed under quarantine in a hotel, while waiting for the coronavirus test result.
According to Dr Sreedevi, a district surveillance officer, the tourist left the hotel to catch the flight, without informing the state health officials.
All of them managed to board the plane, but were later asked to disembark; the health and immigration official managed to flagged his condition in time. The result was out and he had tested positive for the virus.
The tourist and his wife were sent to a government hospital, while the 17 others were taken to a makeshift quarantine centre.
After approval was given by the authorities, the flight to Dubai continued its journey with a three hour delay. EK531 was scheduled to depart at 09:30 on Sunday; it only took off at 12:47, with 270 passengers on board.
Editor’s Thought: It is extremely irresponsible to board a plane with 270 passengers if you’re infected with the coronavirus. I can understand the feeling of going home but given most airport are now equipped with at least some health screening, this is not a wise move.