Agencies:

In a bizarre incident on Saturday morning, an Air India aircraft flying to Moscow was called back after the pilot tested positive for COVID-19.

The VT-EXR Air India Flight was on its way to Moscow, under the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back stranded Indians. Somewhere near Uzbekistan, the crew was informed that one of the pilots onboard has tested positive for Covid-19 and they were called back immediately as per the protocol.
This was a ferry flight, so only the crew was on board, around 6 people. Sources say it was a ‘genuine oversight’ as the pilot’s COVID positive report was misread as negative in the pre-flight checks.

“It is believed to be a human error and as soon as it was realised, it was rectified,” an Air India source said. The aircraft landed back in Delhi around 12:45 pm, and was deep-cleaned and sanitised as per protocol. The infected pilot and the rest of the crew have been quarantined.