Got tested for COVID-19 at the Riverside Travel Medical Clinic in Ottawa. The test cost $189.00 If you also wanted a certificate besides the test result, it would cost an extra $55.00 I had previously booked this appointment on Dec 29, 2020 by sending an e-mail message to riversideclinictest@gmail.com
- Test Result
- Inform your Indian destination airport of your planned arrival
- Request the state government with jurisdiction over the airport to exempt you from their quarantine requirements, if you have a negative RT-PCR test report, AND you are taking another domestic flight to get to your final destination
Received negative test results in PDF document format via email.
Navigated to Delhi Airport's Air Suvidha website, filled out an online "self-declaration" form which describes itself as:
Air Suvidha self declaration form to be mandatorily filled by all international arriving passengers to India. Applications are being accepted on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The "PNR Number" they ask for is what Air Canada calls a "booking reference". This form allows you to upload a JPEG image of your passport (size needs to be less than 1 MB). This is an automated system that responds within minutes by e-mail from noreply@newdelhiairport.in with a message with the subject line "Registration Request Application Number : SRnnnnnnnnnnn" (SR followed bt 11 digits). It will have an attached PDF validating the information you just filled out. You are supposed to print this PDF and have the paper copy with you.
Because I need to get on a domestic flight from Delhi to Kerala, I had to fill out an additional "exemption" form since I now have a document that shows a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. This makes me eligible to be exempted by the government of Delhi from its institutional quarantine requirements. This form describes itself as:
Air Suvidha exemption request form for international arriving passengers to India. Applications are being accepted on behalf of state governments (fixed their bad grammar). For RT-PCR exemption, your test should be taken within 72 hours of departure. Otherwise, you need to to take RT-PCR test on arrival at the airport where COVID testing facilities are available. There is no quarantine applicable to passengers arriving with a negative RT-PCR report.
This form will require you to provide the previously received application number so that it can retrieve the information you had previously filled out. It will now allow you to uplaod the negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result in PDF or JPEG format. This is also an automated system that responds within minutes with a confirmation e-mail from noreply@newdelhiairport.in with the subject line "Registration Request Application Number : ERnnnnnnnnnn" (ER followed by 10 digits). It will not have any attachments.
One day later, you will get another email with either an approval or a rejection. It will be from noreply@newdelhiairport.in with the subject line "Your Application for Exemption From Mandatory Institutional Quarantine : ERnnnnnnnnnn". It will have a PDF attachment which you need to print and take with you.
The equipment for the Air Canada flight from Ottawa to Toronto was an Airbus A220-300 which was originally christened the Bombardier CS-300. It is a beautiful airplane - big windows, and spacious overhead bag compartments.
The equipment for the Air Canada flight from Toronto to Delhi (AC 42) was a Boeing 777-300ER. Possibly due to low demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, business class seats were affordably low. Possibly because of this, the no-choice, exclusively vegetarian menu from Vancouver chef Vikram Vij was underwhelming. The crew went to great lengths to keep the bathrooms clean.
The flight path went north over northern Canada and Norway, and then south over Russia and Pakistan.At Delhi airport, they checked everyone for paperwork related to the self-reporting form, the Delhi institutional quarantine exemption form, and the negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test. Before exiting the airport, everyone was asked to fill out a "Undertaking for Claiming Exemption" paper form. The undertaking includes a) a promise to install the Government of India's Arogya Setu mobile app on one's mobile phone, b) 14 days of home quarantine at your home address and c) a promise to inform the local administration of one's arrival. An authorized person will then approve/reject this before you are allowed to exit.