20 passengers, including Covid-19 positive UK citizen, detained at Kochi airport
1 min read 15 Mar 2020, 12:38 PM ISTUK national belongs to a group of 19 holidaying in the hill resort town of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillanceThe passenger joined the group to reach the Kochi airport without informing authorities in Munnar
PremiumKOCHI : Twenty passengers, including UK national who tested positive for coronovirus, of Dubai-bound flight from Kochi were detained and the flight left with renaming passengers, an airport official said.
Earlier today, the Kochi airport officials had said that at least 289 passengers of a Dubai-bound flight were offloaded at Kochi airport shortly before takeoff after a UK national among them tested positive for novel coronavirus.
The passenger belonged to a group of 19 holidaying in the hill resort town of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillance, a Cochin International Airport Limited spokesman said.
He joined the group to reach the Kochi airport without informing authorities in Munnar, he said.
When the test result came, the authorities came to know that he was at the Kochi airport and travelling by an Emirates flight. Firstly, it was decided to offload all 19 passengers of his group, he said.
"Now, it is decided to offload the remaining 270 passengers also and send them to hospital for further investigation", the spokesman said.
