AI flight returns as pilot contracts virus

New Delhi

The Airbus A320 plane departed around 7.15 am for Moscow to bring back a group of stranded Indians under the Vande Bharat evacuation mission and it was back in Delhi by 12.30 pm following orders from the authorities, they said.

Two senior bureaucrats confirmed that there was a ‘‘lapse’’ on the part of officials responsible to scrutinise the coronavirus test reports of the crew members and that they did not look at the pilot's test results properly.According to standard operating procedure, pilots and other crew members of any flight are required to undergo mandatory testing for coronavirus and are assigned duties if the laboratory results are negative.

The Director General of Civil Aviation has already begun an investigation into the case based on a preliminary report by Air India, the officials said.

The plane with registration number VT-EXR and having only the crew members was in the airspace of Uzbekistan when it was told to return.

‘‘In this case, the airline officials did not look at the pilot's test results properly and deemed him fit to fly, assuming that he is COVID-19 negative, even when the test results stated otherwise,’’ said an official in the DGCA.