United Airlines Crew Refuses To Undergo Covid Test At Delhi Airport, Returns To New York In Empty Flight

"Due to the updated Covid regulations set forth by the Indian government, we had to cancel some flights and others are delayed," United Airlines wrote on Twitter.

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New Delhi: In a strange occurrence, a United Airlines flight which was to take passengers from national capital Delhi to New York City returned from Delhi Airport without any passengers.

The flight returned with no passengers after the United Crew refused to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test at the Delhi Airport, as reported by News18. United Airlines has also cancelled all Delhi flights until further notice.

“As we seek clarity regarding Covid-19 travel requirements to India, we have temporarily suspended service to DEL for April 22 and canceled the corresponding return flights. We are working to provide alternate options to our customers and plan to resume our scheduled service as soon as possible,” - United Airlines Spokesperson said.

“United Airlines is scheduled to resume flights from Delhi to the United States from Sunday 25 April,” the Spokesperson added.

The airline has been responding to queries raised by several Indian passengers regarding their flights.

One of the responses read: “Due to the updated Covid regulations set forth by the Indian government, we had to cancel some flights and others are delayed. We are in talks with them to see if we can resolve some issues but this is not guaranteed. Right now, flights are day-to-day so we encourage you to stay updated with your flights online until a decision is made. We do not have any further information at this time”.

As India witnesses a second wave of Coronavirus pandemic, the crew of quick turnaround flights with no exit from the aircraft have been exempted from the RT-PCR test. However, flights wherein crew deboard the plane have to undergo the Covid test.

In the case of United Airlines, the flight landed in Delhi with passengers on board and was supposed to leave later, which means the crew would have to deboard the plane and exit the airport.