New Delhi (NVI): A first-of-its-kind online portal has been developed by the Delhi international airport, which will allow international arriving passengers to fill a mandatory self-declaration form and eligible passengers to apply for exemption from compulsory institutional quarantine for coronavirus.
The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said the portal will make passengers’ journey contactless as they won’t have to fill physical copies of a self-declaration form and a quarantine exemption form at the time of arrival in India, a release from Ministry of Civil Aviation stated.
The facility will be made available to the passengers from August 8, 2020.
The online forms have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs and Governments of various states and union territories including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh among others.
With India establishing air bubble with several countries, the number of international arrivals is likely to go up. This new online self-declaration & quarantine exemption portal will prove to be beneficial for the government officials in taking a swift and informed decision on granting exemption or know the latest health condition of the international arriving passenger.
According to MoCA guidelines, passengers seeking exemption under the five specific categories will need to fill the e-form available on the website of Delhi Airport and submit it along with supporting documents, including copy of their passports, at least 72 hours before boarding their flights. However, there is no such time capping for passengers filling for the Self-Declaration form.
Furthermore, passengers who are allowed the exemption would have to undergo 14-day home quarantine.
All self-declaration applications will be routed to Airport Health Organization (APHO), under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
A copy of approval or rejection of exemption requests on specific grounds will be emailed to the passengers. Those who would be given exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine can show the same at transfer area after landing at Delhi Airport and walk out of the airport hassle-free.
From Saturday, a total of five categories of passengers can get exemption from the mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine — pregnant women; those who have suffered death in the family; those suffering from a serious illness; parents accompanying children below 10 years of age; those who have COVID-negative certificate from a test done 96 hours prior to the journey.
Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, appreciated the Delhi Airport’s initiative and said, “MoCA appreciates Delhi Airport’s contribution in helping digitize and streamline this process of health self-declaration and exempting passengers. E-platform prepared by DIAL would be used by all airports in the country & help the States/ health authorities to fast track the process of clearances for international arrivals. This will further facilitate to scale up the number of flights handled at Indian airports.”
-CHK
