Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai
Updated
Dubai, Sep 18: Hours after suspension of flights from India to Dubai for 15 days after two fliers tested positive for coronavirus, Air India Express on announced that flight operations will begin as originally scheduled from Saturday September 19.
The announcement was made by the airline on its Facebook and Twitter pages late evening on Friday September 18. "Attention Passengers from/to Dubai! All Air India Express flights from/to Dubai will operate as per original schedule w.e.f tomorrow, September 19,2020 (sic)," the airline tweeted.
Earlier in the evening, the airline had announced that it had introduced additional flights to Sharjah to accommodate passengers who had already booked their flights to Dubai, and also given them option to re-book on a future date. Five flights, each to Kozhikode, Delhi, Mumbai, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuran, had been rescheduled for this purpose,
The 15-day suspension was ordered by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority after two passengers, from Delhi and Jaipur, were found to have been allowed to board flights to Dubai on separate dates. Air India Express issued a statement thereafter stating that punitive action had been taken against ground handling agents responsible for the lapse.
"Prior to the receipt of the notice, the airline had submitted a letter to the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority expressing the Airline's profuse apologies and detailing the various actions taking by the airline in association with the concerned ground handling agents to guard against such lapse in the future," Air India Express had said in its statement earlier in the evening.
Earlier Report
Following suspension, AI Express arranges flights to Sharjah for Dubai-bound passengers
Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Sep 18: Following the suspension of Air India Express flights to Dubai for 15 days after two fliers were tested positive for coronavirus, the airline issued a statement on Friday September 18 informing that punitive action has been taken against those responsible, and added that special flights to Sharjah have been arranged to accomodate passengers who would be inconvenienced by the suspension.
"The notice has been issued on account of erroneous acceptance of one Covid positive passenger by the airline's ground handling agents at Delhi and Jaipur on Air India Express flights to Dubai on August 28 and September 4 respectively. As per information gathered, passengers who were seated in close proximity to the Covid positive passengeron each flight had undergone Covid test / quarantined as determined by the Dubai health authority," the airline said.
"The airline has reiterated the instructions to the handling agencies in India to strictly adhere to the regulation/SOP in relation to the acceptance of passengers on the airline's flights. As abundant precaution, the airline has advised the handling agents to implement a three-tier checking mechanism to avoid any such lapse in the future.
"Based on the airline's communication to them, the concerned ground handling agencies have taken appropriate punitive action against their employees who have been held accountable for the lapse at Delhi and Jaipur.
"Prior to the receipt of the notice, the airline had submitted a letter to the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority expressing the Airline's profuse apologies and detailing the various actions taking by the airline in association with the concerned ground handling agents to guard against such lapse in the future.
"In order to mitigate the inconvenience that may be caused to passengers booked to fly to Dubai, the airline has introduced additional flights to Sharjah to accommodate the affected passengers. The affected passengers who have booked to fly to Dubai are also being given the option to rebook to a future date," Air India Express said.