India’s COVID-19 tracking mobile application ‘Aarogya Setu’ had been made mandatory for all airline passengers above 14 years, as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). This comes after the domestic flights were announced to resume from May 25 by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Apart from the use of the app, the use of masks and gloves, and thermal screening of passengers will also be mandatory.
“Moreover, passengers “not showing Green” on the Aarogya Setu app will not be permitted to enter into the airports,” AAI document reads.
The passengers must reach the airport 2 hours before the scheduled departure of their flights. Passengers who have their flight in the next 4 hours will only have permission to enter the airport.
The thermal screening will be done before the entry of all the passengers. Social distancing norms will have to be followed at the screening zones, entry gates, airport terminal, etc.
Still, there is no clarity whether the passengers who don’t have a phone will be allowed to fly.
The ‘Aarogya Setu’ app released on the 2nd of April has crossed over 100 million downloads, making it one of the most popular government apps in India.
Hence, on the 5th of May, a French ethical hacker Robert Baptiste, who goes by the name Elliot Alderson on Twitter, claimed that there were security issues with the app.
