Air India - Air India Misguided information on RTPCR test time validity for Mumbai to AbuDhabi flight

Dear Team,

I am writing this email as a complaint as I was misguided by Air India Airport Officials on Mumbai Airport on the information regarding RT-PCR test result validity for travel from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi.

I had my Air India flight from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, UAE on **th April **** *.** pm with details as below

I was not allowed to board the flight from Mumbai Airport as the Airport Authority Officials of Air India said that the RT-PCR test result has expired and the sample should have been collected within ** hours of flight departure.

My RT PCR sample was collected on **th April **** @ *.** pm
So based on this my sample was well collected no more than ** hours before departure, which abides by the flying norms to Abu Dhabi by adhering to covid-** safety and precautionary regulations.

I have check the Air India's UAE travel regulations which says that -

Travel Criteria : For Passengers departing from India to Abu Dhabi
Passengers must carry a negative PCR certificate in printed form, from a government approved laboratory in India (ICMR) or a certified designated laboratory which is available on https://www.icmr.gov.in/pdf/covid/labs/COVID_Testing_Labs_********.pdf or PureHealth approved laboratories https://screening.purehealth.ae/ issued no more than ** hours before departure.

Since i was not allowed to board the flight, i spoke to Air India Customer Care to understand the revised rule. I spoke to * customer service executives named Salman and Neeta and they also mentioned that the rule is correct which says to have covid-** RT-PCR sample to be collected no more than ** hours before departure for Abu Dhabi. So this means i very well had the valid RT-PCR report and was unnecessarily harassed by the airport officials when they themselves had no clear information on the regulations.
Call Centre executives also confirmed that this information is not yet updated anywhere on the website the RT-PCR test samples to be collected no more than ** hours before departure for Abu Dhabi.
Because of this I had to face so much inconvenience just because of negligence of the airport officials.

My question is, when the required rules are not updated anywhere on the airlines website, how are we supposed to get an update.


Even the abu dhabi airport website says as - Guidelines for passengers arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport and entering Abu Dhabi.
Please make sure to follow the below guidelines when arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport and remaining within Abu Dhabi Emirate:
All UAE residents must update their details on uaeentry.ica.gov.ae prior to traveling to the UAE. Ahead of flying to Abu Dhabi, you must present a negative PCR test result, from a test taken within the past ** hours. Travellers from the United Kingdom must present a negative PCR test result from a test taken within the past ** hours, or as required by your airline

Abu Dhabi airport URL for your reference -- https://www.abudhabiairport.ae/en/announcement

Due to so much unnecessary inconvenience caused, I requested someone to look into the matter and I also request for the compensation on the expenses I had to bear because of not being able to board the flight. Due to this, I was not able to reach back to Abu Dhabi on my committed date.
I appreciate an investigation and a positive response at the earliest.