El Salvador has imposed a Spirit Airlines fine on boarding a passenger with a positive Covid-19 PCR test, Ricardo Cucalon, director general of the Office for Migration and Foreign Affairs, said on Monday.
The flight was from Houston to San Salvador on Thursday.
Spirit was fined about $ 6,000, Cucalon told local media on Monday.
“I ask the airline to solve the problem. A $ 6,000 fine doesn’t solve it. The problem is the risk to which countless people have been exposed “, said Cucalon.
About 58 passengers who traveled on the same flight were notified, as well as the country’s Ministry of Health – because it is up to them to determine the best way to counter 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, the capital of El Salvador, where migration officials found that the passenger was allowed to travel with a positive PCR test for Covid-19.
Spirit Airlines told CNN on Saturday that it was investigating how the passenger managed to board the plane “despite checks” and that it would take appropriate action. The airline stated that they have protocols in place to meet the requirements of each country in which they travel.
El Salvador requires all passengers traveling in the country to provide a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours prior to travel.
The country resumed international flights in September after closing them for six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.