Flights from UK to remain suspended till further orders

Kolkata (West Bengal): In order to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the West Bengal Government on Thursday announced that it has suspended all flights coming to the Kolkata airport from the United Kingdoms from January 3 onwards till further notice.

"In view of the rising number of Covid-19 variant Omicron cases globally as well within the country, the West Bengal Government has decided to temporarily and until further orders suspend all direct flights from the United Kingdom to Kolkata with effect from January 3, 2022. Flights, which is an at-risk country as notified by the MOHFW, Government of India, will not be allowed in the state and any NOCs which have been issued stand withdrawn," read the government's letter to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1440"] Social media[/caption] Also read | Omicron: Yellow alert to continue, no fresh restrictions for now "Further, with effect from January 3, 2022, all passengers coming from other non at-risk countries by international flights to West Bengal will have to mandatorily undergo a test on arrival at their cost. The airlines will randomly select 10 per cent of the passengers for the RT-PCR test and the balance 90 per cent shall undergo Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at the arrival airport. Those found positive in the RAT test will have to further undergo RT-PCR tests as may be required by the health authorities," the letter added. The West Bengal Government said all passengers had to mandatorily pre-book the test before boarding to reduce waiting time on arrival, which the airlines must ensure prior to allowing the boarding. Accordingly, the airport authorities might be asked to augment the holding capacity of the arrival lounge on the international side and also increase the number of testing counters so as to reduce the waiting time for the passengers at the airport. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Social media[/caption] Also read | Omicron is spreading in community: Delhi Health Minister The state government said the airlines might be requested to evenly space out the flight arrivals in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, in consultation with the Airport Director and the state nodal officer so as to reduce waiting time. State reports 5 more Omicron cases   West Bengal reported five more cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 on Tuesday taking the total number of patients infected by the new variant in the state to 11. The state government's decision of curbing flights from the UK came a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a review meeting on Wednesday over the COVID situation in the state. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Social media[/caption] -PTC News