Passenger Traffic At Bhubaneswar Airport Drops By 50% Amid COVID Surge

Bhubaneswar: Amid a surge in COVID cases, the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Odisha capital saw an unprecedented 50 per cent drop in air traffic compared to last week.

While around 12,000 passengers travelled from BPIA last week, the numbers dropped to 7,000-8,000 this week, sources said.

“The necessary Covid-19 guidelines are being strictly followed at the airport. Random RT-PCR tests are being conducted on passengers, who are not in possession of an RT-PCR report obtained within 72 hours of boarding the flight,” airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria informed on Saturday.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has set up facilities for conducting random tests on the flyers deboarded at Bhubaneswar airport. After making RT-PCR test mandatory, the civic body had partially notified it exempting those who are in possession of the negative certificate obtained within 72 hours of boarding the flight. If passengers are found symptomatic during screening, they will be immediately isolated and taken to BMC medical facility, the Friday order said.

The travellers, who undergo the test, are required to isolate at home till the result is communicated to them by BMC. Those found positive will follow the usual COVID protocols of the state.

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After a gap of almost 5 months, the daily COVID caseload in Odisha breached the 1000-mark on January 5 with 1,216 people testing positive for the virus. Cases have spiralled since then with 1,897 on January 6, 2,703 on January 7 and 3,679 on January 8.

The test positivity rate has also gone up from 1.13 per cent on January 4 to 5.51 per cent on January 8.