NO COVID TEST, SPICEJET PILOTS SPEND 21 HOURS IN JET AT ZAGREB

Pilots flying a SpiceJet flight had no option but to spend 21 hours resting in the aircraft in the Croatian Capital Zagreb after authorities there refused to allow them to get off the plane as they did not have a RT-PCR negative certificate.

The airline blamed Croatian authorities for changing orders mid-air and insisting on RT-PCR negative tests after initially saying it was not required. The aircraft was apparently on a chartered flight SG-9035 on May 11 on the New Delhi-Tbilisi (Georgia)Zagreb (Croatia) sector with two sets of cockpit crew. Aviation regulator DGCA has “admonished” the airline for the incident, a DGCA official said on condition of anonymity. SpiceJet had approached the DGCA for permission since the rest for the pilots was not in a suitable environment as mandated by India’s Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR).