As many as 125 passengers on a single chartered flight from Rome, Italy to Amritsar, India, tested positive for COVID-19 after landing in Amritsar on Thursday last week.
A total of 179 passengers were on board the charter flight, including 19 children. Among the passengers, 160 were tested as the children were exempted as they were under five years of age.
The passengers who tested positive were sent to institutional quarantine. The majority of those on board tested positive as Italy is one of the high-risk countries for Omicron.
The Portuguese company, EuroAtlantic Airways, was granted permission for the charter flight as India and Italy don’t have an air bubble agreement. The Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy in Rome and the State government coordinates approvals for special flights.