El Salvador has imposed a fine on Spirit Airlines for boarding a passenger with a positive Covid-19 PCR test result, the country’s director-general for the Office of Migration and Foreign Affairs, Ricardo Cucalon, said on Monday.
The flight was from Houston to San Salvador on Thursday.
Spirit has been fined approximately $6,000, Cucalon said, speaking to local media on Monday.
“I call on the airline to solve the issue. A fine of $6,000 doesn’t solve it. The issue is the risk to which countless people were exposed to,” Cucalon said.
Some 58 passengers who traveled on the same flight have been notified as well as the country’s Health Ministry — as it is up to them to determine the best way to contain the potential spread of the virus.
What happened: On Thursday, a Honduran citizen was allowed to board a flight from Houston, Texas to San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, where migration officials discovered the passenger was allowed to travel with a positive PCR test result for Covid-19.
Spirit Airlines told CNN on Saturday that it is investigating how the passenger was able to board the plane “despite going through the checks” and that it will take the appropriate measures. The airline affirmed that they have protocols in place to meet the requirements demanded by each country to which they travel.
El Salvador requires all passengers traveling to the country to provide a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours before traveling.
The country resumed international flights in September after closing them for six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
2021-01-12 07:13:31
