Air India pilot tested positive

In a shocking development, five pilots of Air India have tested positive for coronavirus as 77 pilots of the airline were tested for the virus yesterday on a priority basis.

According to the official source, none of the infectedpilots have any symptoms and they have been advised home quarantine, thesources said. 

All five affected pilots have been operating Boeing 787Dreamliner.  The last time any of themoperated a flight was on April 20.  

The national carrier has been operating through the lockdownperiod, initially rescuing Indians stranded in COVID-19 nations, includingItaly and Iran.

Currently the Air India flights are engaged in ferrying back stranded Indians from various nations in what is possibly the biggest rescue operation since the Gulf war. The first such flight with 326 Indians took off from London and landed at Mumbai Airport on Sunday.

The phased rescue-op started from May 7 and the airline isexpected to operate 64 flights in the first week to bring back around 15,000Indians.