Five Air India Pilots Test Positive For Coronavirus, Had Flown Cargo Flight To Guangzhou

Five Air India pilots who had recently operated a cargo flight to China’s Guangzhou have tested positive for novel coronavirus, The Times of India reported.

According to a source quoted in the report, “The news has made quite a few pilots, currently rostered to operate repatriation flights anxious. Under the Vande Bharat mission schedule pilots have layovers in places like New York where the number of Covid cases are high.”

The national air carrier has been operating cargo flights to various places worldwide. The flight to Guangzhou, a Boeing 787, had gone to pick up medical supplies on 18 April and returned to New Delhi.

Similar flights for medical supplies were also operated to another Chinese city - Shanghai, and another to Hong Kong.