Around 280 passengers of a Dubai-bound Emirates flight were offloaded at Kerala’s Kochi airport on Sunday shortly before takeoff after a British national among them tested positive for novel Coronavirus, said the airport officials.
However, the Keral Health officials are yet to confirm this case.
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.
He was tracked down to the airport by health officials after he was tested positive for the COVID-19, Kochi airport authorities said.
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”, news agency PTI quoted the spokesman as saying.
Kerala has recorded 22 cases, including three patients who were discharged last month after they recovered from the Coronavirus.