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Government scraps PCR test requirements for domestic flights after backlash
Under the new requirement, airline passengers are allowed to provide a negative result of the more affordable antigen test.
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Healthcare workers take swab samples from COVID-19 patients at the emergency room of the Cengkareng General Hospital in Jakarta on June 23. (Antara/Fauzan)
T
he government has scrapped a requirement for airline passengers to exclusively take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to board domestic flights, in the latest policy reversal following mounting public pressure and claims the policy was discriminatory.
Under the new requirement, airline passengers are allowed to provide a negative result of the more affordable antigen test.
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said on Monday that the changes were made following a proposal tabled by Home Minister Tito Karnavian.
“There is a change in [air] travel [requirements]. Passengers of domestic flights to and from Java and Bali will not be exclusively required to take a PCR test, as a [negative] antigen test would be sufficient,” Muhadjir said on Monday after a weekly Cabinet meeting evaluating the government’s multitiered public activity restrictions (PPKM).
Muhadjir did not take questions during the briefing and did not elaborate on when the new policy will be in effect.
The previous PCR test mandate for airline passengers took effect on Oct. 24. At the time, COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said the requirement aimed at limiting the risks of coronavirus transmissions as the government gradually eased mobility curbs.
Read also: Government eases airline passenger cap, mandates PCR test for domestic flights
