A senior member of Air India Express’s cabin crew flew even though she was aware that she tested positive for coronavirus. The airline admitted this fact and promised to investigate the matter. The 44 year old woman employee underwent an RT-PCR test on November 12 and received her report the next day which showed that she tested positive for the virus. Though she was quarantined from the next day, the airline permitted her to perform her duty on a flight from Delhi – Madurai on November 13.
A spokesperson from the airline said that no fellow crew members when tested were found infected. He also said that the matter would be investigated. A top official of one of the leading airlines stated that a crew member can operate few domestic flights until his/her test reports are awaited to avoid a situation of crew shortage.Vipul Saxena, an aviation expert however stated that this comes under a blatant violation of safety norms and the head of flight safety should be held responsible and that crew schedule planning has a provision for a last moment change. He called for a detailed inquiry into the issue and also to check if the crew member was forced to take the flight.
