Flight fiasco

By MIRIAM ZARRIGA
FOUR of the 114 passengers who arrived at Jackson International Airport from India on Thursday have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Pandemic Reponse Controller David Manning has asked for diplomatic action to be taken against India.
Yesterday, Prime Minister James Marape also revealed that several of the passengers had escaped from quarantine and that the authorities were in the midst of rounding them up.
He also ordered a probe to ascertain how unauthorised passengers boarded Indonesia’s Garuda Air from India and disembarked at the airport.
Manning said the Indian High Commission (IHC) in PNG had undermined the trust of a friendly nation (PNG).
“I am angry and disappointed at the way the IHC in Port Moresby deliberately participated in the deception that resulted in unauthorised passengers, including four Covid-19 infected persons, arriving in PNG,” he said.
“The behaviour of those involved has been dishonest with the process.
“I have requested the Government (Foreign Affairs Department) to deal with the IHC through appropriate diplomatic channels.
“The charter company and the airline, as well as any middlemen, will now face other consequences for their actions.
“The IHC must respect PNG as a sovereign nation and not participate in actions involving unscrupulous people and undermine public health and safety measures.
“As a consequences of this deliberate show of disrespect against the people and PNG Government, there is an now indefinite ban on any further repatriation flight from India.
“Further, CapaJet and Garuda are now prevented from entering PNG airspace until further notice.”
Manning said strict safety measures for the repatriation flight had been agreed on in order to prevent the spread of the Delta strain from India.
“Considering the devastating outbreak of Delta in India that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, our Government had to be strict with the Indian government in order to keep Papua New Guineans safe,” he said.
“That is why the proposed repatriation flight from India was rejected four times and was only approved after the set measures had been agreed with representatives of the IHC.
“First, the agreement on the number of approved passengers was broken when the Indian government and flight operators allowed 81 passengers to board the jet to PNG.
“While some of the passengers were Papua New Guineans, and the rest had current and valid visas, the point is that the Indian government broke our agreement by allowing so many to travel.
“It was only after the aircraft had stopped to refuel in Indonesia, and then departed for Port Moresby, that the truth was revealed.”
Manning said consideration was given to turning the aircraft around, but that would have distressed PNG citizens on the flight and other legitimate travellers who were not part of the deception.
“Secondly, the Indian government allowed some passengers to board the aircraft without taking Covid-19 tests and returning a negative result. This failure resulted in the flight carrying four Covid-19-infected persons to PNG,” he said.
Manning said the Indonesian government would also be receiving correspondence from PNG’s Foreign Affairs Department.

      Clear Image of the Flight Path.