Karipur: A man has filed a complaint stating that passengers are being exploited in the name of Covid tests at Kozhikode airport. It is alleged that the young man, who was on his way to the US, was sent back after a fake Covid test. Kozhikode native Sanroop Ramesh was sent back from Karipur airport after they took his Covid test. He then made necessary arrangements and flew to the US after booking a ticket at higher airfare from Nedumbassery airport. He filed a complaint with the airline company and the airport authorities.
Sanroop arrived at the Kozhikode airport to travel to Philadelphia via Qatar on January 21. He had with him a Covid negative report taken within 72 hours. The check-in counter officials told him that the passenger must produce the Covid certificate of the test taken within 24 hours and that he would not be able to board the flight otherwise. The officials also refused when he told them that he would get the test done from outside the airport terminal for Rs 1,600.
Sanroop said that an official wearing the Air India uniform approached him and offered to help by saying that he would get the test done in a lab inside the airport for Rs 300 and that he could board the flight if the result was negative. Sanroop was charged Rs 300 for the test and within seven minutes was informed that he had tested positive.
He then asked for the test certificate repeatedly but was not given one. He was forced to sit alone and later sent back home in a taxi.
In the RT-PCR test that was conducted six hours after his return to home, he was found to be Covid negative. Sanroop said that he travelled from Nedumbassery Airport to the US after booking a ticket with high airfare.
The airport officials informed that only the rapid Covid test that is conducted for travel to the UAE was taken at the airport. Rs 1600 is the charge for this test. The airport authorities said that there was no information about the conduct of an illegal Covid test in the airport for Rs 300 and that they would look into the matter.
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