SpiceJet on Sunday said that one of their pilots, who did not fly any international flights in the month of March, has tested positive for the coronavirus, PTI reported.

“One of our colleagues, a first officer with SpiceJet, has tested positive for Covid-19,” the airline’s spokesperson was quoted as saying. “The test report came on March 28. He did not operate any international flight in March.”

The air carrier said the last domestic flight operated by the pilot was from Chennai to Delhi on March 21, after which he went into self-quarantine at home. All necessary medical aid and treatment is being provided to him, SpiceJet said.

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The airline added that it is taking steps to trace the source of contact in order to establish how many other people had interacted with the pilot. In light of this, all crew and staff members who had been in direct contact with the patient have been asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days as a preventive measure.

SpiceJet said it has been following all guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation and the Centre to mitigate the spread of the pandemic. All aircrafts are being disinfected thoroughly as per the health organisation’s standards, it added.

All domestic and international flights in the country have been suspended till April 14 as the government extended the ban on all air operations amid the three-week countrywide lockdown imposed to break the chain of Covid-19 infection. The ban, however, will not apply to cargo flights or those specially approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

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Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 patients who have died in India rose to 25 on Sunday morning – an increase of six since the previous government update. Sixty-one new patients were confirmed across the country, taking the number of cases to 979. Of these, 86 have now recovered.

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