According to Bernama, all 402 passengers on two AirAsia flights to Tawau, Sabah are advised to go to their nearest health office to undergo a second screening for COVID-19. This is due to positive cases detected among passengers on the two flights.
The affected flights are AirAsia AK5742 and AK5740 from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, on the 1st and 4th May 2020 respectively. Tawau Area II Health officer Dr Suzalina Sulaiman said that as of 8am today, 39 individuals including 8 students have come forward for tests at a health clinic in Kubota. She added that the individuals tested positive on the two flights were asymptomatic.
She also said that authorities have found returning students from institutions of higher learning that defied home quarantine orders. They have received public complaints with photographic evidence, and the three students will be charged in court. The three students are among the 402 passengers that have flown from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah.
The Straits Times reported that 4 out of 156 passengers on AK5742 were found to be COVID-19 positive, while 2 out of 246 passengers on AK5740 were tested positive. It appears that both flights have quite a high load as AirAsia operates a combination of Airbus A320, A320 neo and A321 neo domestically with a capacity ranging between 180 to 236 seats.
It is odd that AK5740 is reported to have 246 passengers considering the maximum capacity of their A321 neo is 236 seats. We’ve reached out to AirAsia for further clarification.
