Indigo To Offer Pre-Covid-19 Test To Passengers In Partnership With Stemz Healthcare

To book a test, passengers can take appointments online on the IndiGo website through a co-branded URL page based on their travel date.

(File Photo/ AFP)

Low-cost airline IndiGo on Monday announced a partnership with Stemz Healthcare to offer passengers pre-flight COVID-19 tests in India and countries where the airline operates. “Customers can opt for a home visit or choose a lab visit with over 200+ collection centers in India. The (testing) service is also available in other countries including UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia,” IndiGo’s press release said. To book a test, passengers can take appointments online on IndiGo website through a co-branded URL page based on their travel date, the release noted. “As per travel guidelines, several states and countries require a COVID-19 RT-PCR test to be undertaken within a stipulated time frame before a customer boards a flight”, said, Sanjay Kumar, Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, IndiGo. Stemz Healthcare is one of the largest aggregators of ICMR approved laboratories for COVID-19 RT-PCR tests in India, the press release further noted. Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. However, special international passenger flights have been operating in India under Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral air bubble arrangements formed between India and other countries since July. India started scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Indigo is one of the largest airlines in the country in terms of market share and fleet size. With a market share of 59.4% in the Indian commercial aviation market, and a mind-boggling fleet of more than 280 aircraft and 627 on order. Maintaining the status of a low-cost carrier, the airline only operates with Airbus A320s, A321, and ATR-72 aircraft. The low-cost airline operates more than 1500 flights a day on more than 87 destinations in India and a