Maha asked for data of Vande Bharat fliers testing +ve on landing

THE COURT SAID THAT SUCH DATA, IF ANY, SHOULD BE PLACED BEFORE IT IN THE NEXT HEARING ON THURSDAY MORNING

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) directed the Centre on Tuesday to provide data on international evacuee passengers who were Covid-negative when they boarded the Vande Bharat special flights but tested positive after landing in India.

The query was raised while hearing a petition by an Air India pilot who complained that the airline had violated social distancing norms while bringing back those stranded abroad on the special flights.

A division bench of justices S J Kathawalla and S P Tavade, while hearing a petition filed by pilot Deven Kanani on Tuesday through video conferencing, was informed by senior advocate Tushar Mehta appearing for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Air India that the special flights followed all safety norms to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Mehta submitted that Air India, DGCA and the ministry of civil aviation had taken all necessary precautions for passengers who were seated in the middle seat. He said that apart from the three-layered face masks provided to all passengers, the middle seat passengers were provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like a face shield for the entire duration of the flights.

Mehta added that the petitioner’s apprehensions were unfounded and the petition must be dismissed.

After hearing the submissions, HC sought to know from the Centre whether there was any data on evacuated passengers who were Covid-negative when they boarded the flight but were tested positive after disembarking. The court said that such data, if any, should be placed before it in the next hearing on Thursday morning.