RT-PCR test prices amid Omicron scare: Here's how much you need to pay for COVID tests at major Indian airports

New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The restrictions currently in-place for incoming travellers from ‘at risk’ nations mean that the flyers must mandatorily take a paid negative RT-PCR report upon arrival at international airports across India. However, the difference between the costs of rapid PCR test at airports across the country is over 2.5 times more, indicating that there are margins at stake despite state governments intervening to prevent overcharging.

 

 

 

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Airports currently have two types of RT-PCR tests in place. First in the normal RT-PCR test that costs anything between Rs 400 per test (such as at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport) to Rs 750 per test (such as at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport). A normal RT-PCR test takes a few hours to give results and the incoming flyers from long haul flights have complained of inconvenience in past due to the same.

The second is a rapid PCR test, which is functionally as reliable as RT-PCR test but currently costs up to seven times more than that. It gives results in an hour or less than that.

Cost of COVID-19 tests at Delhi Airport

At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, the rapid PCR test costs Rs 3,500 whereas a normal RT-PCR test costs Rs 500.

Cost of COVID-19 tests at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kozhikode airports

At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the rapid PCR test currently costs Rs 3900, down from Rs 4500 a week earlier. Normal RT-PCR test costs Rs 600 at Mumbai’s International Airport. The cost for rapid PCR test also tops a little over 3900 at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, whereas a normal RT-PCR test costs Rs 750.

At Rs 1,580, the rapid PCR test costs the least at Kozhikode International airport in Kerala.

Cost of COVID-19 tests at Ahmedabad, Kolkata International airports

At Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, a normal RT-PCR test costs Rs 400, whereas rapid RT-PCR tests cost Rs 2,700. At Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International airport, the rapid PCR test costs Rs 2,900, down from Rs 3,600 and Rs 4,000 before that.