Telangana Govt issues revised quarantine norms for passengers on Arrivals

Telangana government has now relaxed quarantine norms for passengers arriving in the state via Vande Bharat or 'air transport bubble' flights. This will even asymptomatic international passengers flying to Hyderabad to head straight home after landing as long as they meet the criteria established by the state administration.

As per the latest guideline by the state government, in line with the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Government of India, various relaxations have been provided to asymptomatic international passengers arriving in Telangana.

Currently, Hyderabad International Airport is connected with UK and UAE as part of 'air bubble' agreements. Since the lock-down, over 55,000 Indian citizens stranded abroad have arrived in Hyderabad and over 10,000 people of various nationalities have departed to various countries from the city.

All arriving passengers and aircraft crew are brought out from the aircraft in batches of 20-25 persons each. Each passenger/crew is screened by thermal cameras positioned at the aero-bridge exit under the supervision of the Airport Health officials (APHO) as per the directives of MoHFW (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) prior to immigration



formalities.

Passengers on business trips to Telangana with return tickets within four days of their arrival will not be quarantined at all if they show their negative RT-PCR test reports. These tests must be conducted within 96 hours prior to arrival.

Any asymptomatic passengers traveling with a negative RT-PCR test report conducted within 96 hours prior to departure will be exempted from institutional quarantine but will have to undergo 14 days of home quarantine.

Special consideration of 14 days of home quarantine has been mandated for some categories of asymptomatic passengers without a negative RT- PCR test report. These include expectant ladies, parents traveling with children aged 10 and below, or those traveling on medical emergencies.

However, remaining asymptomatic passengers without negative RT-PCR test results will have to undergo 7 days of institutional quarantine followed by another 7 days of home quarantine.

British Airways has resumed its operations between Hyderabad and London operating flights four times a week. Other airlines operating between Hyderabad and UAE - Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai are likely to resume their operations shortly.