52 passengers travelling on one flight from Delhi to Hong Kong tested positive to COVID-19 after landing

52 passengers travelling from Delhi to Hong Kong on Indian airline Vistara tested positive to COVID-19 after landing even though they all had to present negative test results before boarding. The question is whether the passengers were infected prior to the flight or got infected on their way to Hong Kong.

Vistara operates a A321 on that route with a capacity of 188 passengers. The airline have not provided the total number of passengers carried on that particular flight.

In order to figure out this enigma, we have to consider the current pandemic situation in India and let you get to your own conclusion.

India COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed during this last month. On April 2021 alone, numbers have reached over 300,000 positive daily cases.

Due to this high number, the Indian healthcare system is collapsing and hospitals do not have the resources to deal with the overwhelming need. This brings us to our first scenario. Test are not been efficiently processed and positive cases are not accurately detected. It could be then that all those passengers were infected even before taking the mandatory test for travelling or they presented fraudulent results.

Another theory is that the passenger had gotten infected in the time after taking the test and before they boarded the flight which is 72 hours. This is highly possible considering the alarming statistics mentioned before.

The last possibility authorities have considered is that passengers got infected during the flight. Despite this been a very logical conclusion due to high number of people trapped in a metal tube, Airlines claim that the advanced ventilating systems installed on planes, bring the chances of getting infected to a very minimum risk and that a very strong strain of COVID-19 must have played a role.

To conclude

Even though many restrictions and rules have been put in placed, compliance and common sense cannot be taken for granted. Taking a pre-flight test, wearing a mask and trusting those miraculous advanced ventilating systems, doesn’t guarantee travelling and carrying passengers around the world is safe at all during these times.

You all flying be safe, be cautious and take care!