What Fliers In Delhi Say About New Omicron Rules At Airport

International passengers arriving at the Delhi airport shared mixed experiences as the fresh guidelines for fliers, particularly for those from 'at risk' nations, entered the second day today. Airport officials, however, said that adequate arrangements, including setting up of multiple counters for Covid tests, have been made to ensure that fliers don't face any inconvenience.

The cost of the Rapid PCR test - which gives results in one hour - has also been brought down from Rs 3,900 to Rs 3,500, they said.

Those opting for RT-PCR will however continue to be charged Rs 500.

"We have made sitting arrangements for 1,400 people keeping in mind Covid protocols. Currency exchange counters have been opened up to help those who have difficulty paying by card. Please note that Delhi airport is the first in the country to have a dedicated lab. Multiple counters have been opened for tests," a Delhi airport authority official told NDTV.

On reports of inconvenience faced by travellers, the official said that the airport officials are only following the guidelines issued by the government.

"We are only following the guidelines issued by the government. Earlier, when it was not mandated for everyone to undergo the test, people used to wait in queue for two minutes and get their tests done. Now we need to check every passenger coming from 'at risk' nations," he said.

Abhiroop Sen, who flew in from Germany, said that he didn't face any problems at the airport.

"I didn't have to wait that long to register my test when my flight landed. There wasn't too much rush then. I took the rapid test and received the results in an hour," he said.

Some travellers, however, said that sitting arrangements are not in place at the airport.

"On arrival, we need to produce our vaccination certificate, following which we need to undergo Covid tests. We can choose either Rapid PCR or RT-PCR. The sitting arrangement for passengers waiting for their test results is not satisfactory. I had to stand for over one hour as I waited for the results of my Rapid PCR test," a passenger told NDTV.

India yesterday enforced strict rules for foreign arrivals, particularly from nations with Omicron cases.