Returning to Mumbai by flight? Check the time of RT-PCR report – Times of India

Mumbai: For air passengers returning to Mumbai after a short trip to another state, getting a negative status on the RT-PCR report is only one hurdle crossed. What is equally important is the time the laboratory issued the report, because unlike most other states in India, the nitty-gritties involved in the BMC norm on this matter can be rather stifling. A Mumbai resident’s one-day travel itinerary to Goa collapsed after the Mumbai laboratory issued her RT-PCR report earlier than she expected.
The BMC order on the compulsory negative RT-PCR report states that it “will have to be issued from upto a maximum of 48 hours before the time of passengers’ entry from any part of the country into Maharashtra”. Sonia Bhatia (name changed on request) had her sample collected on Friday morning and the report was issued at 5.59pm the same day. She was to fly to Goa on Saturday morning and return on Sunday by a 6.30pm IndiGo departure to Mumbai. But the IndiGo website specifies that the 48 hour “RT-PCR timeline starts from the report issuance time. Passengers not in possession of the same will be denied boarding”. Bhatia said: “The airline officials in Mumbai and Goa said I had narrowly missed the deadline.” What was worse, she learnt that when flights to Mumbai are delayed, passengers with RT-PCR reports close to the 48-hour deadline have to undergo a fresh test.
But when flying to smaller cities like Goa, a delayed flight too spells trouble. In Goa, swabs are collected only between 10am and 1pm. “My flight was delayed, I missed the deadline for taking test. Goa airport doesn’t have an RT-PCR testing facility. Then again, in Goa, swabs aren’t collected on Sunday. So now I’ll test on Monday and fly out on Tuesday. Alternatively, I’m trying to book myself on a Sunday afternoon flight to Mumbai. How difficult travel has become,’’ she said, adding that Maharashtra could at least deem the PCR report valid for 72 hours like most other states.
The BMC order was issued on May 13, when Covid cases were high. Said a travel agent: “The common pattern with the state government has been, issue a travel restriction when Covid cases are high and then forget about it altogether. Covid cases have dropped, many have been vaccinated, but there has been no revision, no change to the 48-hour order.”