El Salvador has fined Spirit Airlines for boarding a passenger with a positive Covid-19 PCR test result, Ricardo Cucalon, the country’s director general for the Office of Migration and Foreign Affairs, said Monday.
The flight was Thursday from Houston to San Salvador.
Spirit has been fined about $ 6,000, Cucalon said on Monday in a conversation with local media.
“I’m calling the airline to solve the problem. A fine of $ 6,000 won’t fix it. The problem is the risk to which countless people are exposed, ”said Cucalon.
About 58 passengers who have traveled on the same flight have been notified, as has the country’s Ministry of Health, as it is up to them to determine how best to limit 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 discovered that the passenger was allowed to travel with a positive PCR test result for Covid-19.
Spirit Airlines told CNN on Saturday that it is investigating how the passenger was able to board “despite the checks” and that it will take appropriate action. The airline confirmed that it has established protocols to meet the requirements of each country they travel to.
El Salvador requires all passengers traveling to the country to have a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours before departure.
The country resumed international flights in September after closing them for six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.