Nearly 12L international passengers screened

Hyderabad: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said so far nearly 12 lakh passengers coming from abroad have been screened for Coronavirus at various airports across the country.

Speaking at an aviation-related event, the Union minister said there would be a drop of 15 to 20 per cent in domestic air traffic for the time being due to the virus concerns. He further added that out of over 11 lakh passengers, who were screened at 30 airports, only 3,225 were referred to tests.

Indian airports have "set up a benchmark" for other countries in terms of taking precautionary measures such as screening and making facilities available at aerodromes in the wake of the virus outbreak, he added.