Sample this: 120 Rapid PCR machines at IGI, results in 60 mins; 450 RT-PCR tests per hour

NEW DELHI: After facing criticism, including from the civil aviation ministry, Indira Gandhi International Airport added 20 more Rapid RT-PCR machines on Sunday to the 100 already operating there.
This is meant to ease the chaos at the Covid-19 testing counters and to reduce waiting time for people arriving from countries exposed to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and for whom testing is mandatory.
“The number of passengers pre-booking the Covid tests on arrival has been going up every day. In addition to this, more and more passengers are opting for Rapid PCR test over the regular RT-PCR tests,” said Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO, Delhi International Airport Limited.
“Keeping this in mind, we have installed 120 Rapid PCR test machines and provided 20 dedicated counters for passengers who have pre-booked their tests.”
IGIA also plans to hire additional staff for the 60 registration desks for Covid tests it will set up, up from 40 right now, to speed up the process and cater to additional countries likely to be added to the at-risk category.
Jaipuriar also claimed that the test results were being provided quickly to minimise waiting time. “The current time taken from sample collection to providing reports stands at 60 minutes for Rapid PCR test and five hours for RT-PCR tests,” he said.
“We are also working closely with the immigration authorities to facilitate swift movement of passengers. For those waiting for their test results, seating arrangements have been vastly expanded and food counters have been made available in the waiting area.”
Besides the 120 machines for Rapid PCR that take the hourly capacity for Covid tests to 500-600, there also are four sets of fully automated RT-PCR setups with a capacity to carry out approximately 450 tests per hour.
“In addition to the 120 Rapid PCR machines, we are also planning to place 30 others in Terminal 3 in order to save an additional time of 30 minutes spent on moving test samples to the main lab at the T3 multilevel parking,” said Chetan Kohli, COO of Genestrings Diagnostics Centre, which is operating the testing facility at IGIA.
In recent days, with Omicron leading to compulsory testing for passengers arriving from listed countries, there have been complaints about crowding, inadequate facilities and inordinate delays related to the tests.
Amid rumours about passengers cancelling tickets because of the long hours of waiting for test results, TOI got some data on the passenger load at the airport in the last few days.
According to the figures received from the airport, on December 1, 2, 3 and 4, the total passengers at the airport, respectively, was approximately 1.54 lakh, 1.55 lakh, 1.6 lakh and 1.7 lakh. The airport staff said the passenger load has remained around the same since then.
At the testing facility for departing passengers, TOI spoke to a few people. Deepak Jain was flying to Dubai and said he faced not problems, having paid Rs 3,500 for the Rapid PCR test. However, passengers like Paulomi who had opted for the RT-PCR test available at Rs 500, appeared aggrieved at the long wait for the results.