Telangana relaxes quarantine norms for international passengers

The Telangana government has relaxed quarantine norms for international passengers arriving in Hyderabad by Vande Bharat or Air Transport Bubble flights.

The asymptomatic international passengers landing at Hyderabad Airport can now directly head home if they meet the criteria as laid down by the state government.

The state government has issued new guidelines in line with the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Passengers on business trips to Telangana with return tickets within four days of their arrival will not be quarantined at all if they show their negative RT-PCR test report conducted within 96 hours prior to departures.

Any asymptomatic passenger having a negative report of a RT-PCR test conducted within 96 hours prior to departure will be exempted from institutional quarantine and will undergo 14 days of home quarantine.

Special consideration of 14 days of home quarantine has been mandated for some categories of asymptomatic passengers without negative RT-PCR test reports. These include pregnant women, parents travelling with children 10 years or below or those travelling on medical emergencies.

However, the rest of the asymptomatic passengers without negative RT-PCR test results will have to undergo 7 days each of institutional quarantine followed by home quarantine.

Currently, Hyderabad International Airport is connected with the UK and UAE under Air Bubble agreements. British Airways has resumed its operations between Hyderabad and London four times in a week. Other airlines operating between Hyderabad and the UAE -- Etihad, Emirates and Flydubai -- are likely to resume their operations shortly.

The airport is also handling charter flights under the Vande Bharat Mission which includes Air India flights and other foreign airliners as per the regulatory norms.

From the time of lockdown till date over 55,000 Indian citizens stranded in various countries have arrived in Hyderabad and over 10,000 people of various nationalities have departed for their countries from Hyderabad.

International departures at Hyderabad airport are being handled through the fully sanitized Interim International Departures Terminal (IIDT) with thermal screening and social distancing in place.