No movement at the airport runway on Friday

MUMBAI: Flyers quarantined at a luxury hotel near the airport while awaiting their Covid test results complained they were not allowed to use the elevators to reach their third-level rooms or visit restrooms on the lower level. A retired CEO of a pharma technology company, among those quarantined earlier this week, intends to lodge a formal complaint.

The sexagenarian and his wife returned from US on March 21. They were asked to visit the Seven Hills Hospital, where he was advised quarantining pending tests. Since he wanted his wife to be with him, the couple opted to stay at the JW Marriott, Sahar -- one of the hotels the BMC has joined hands with to isolate flyers.

"There were about 5 or 6 couples with us in the bus from the hospital to the hotel. Most of us were elders and we had baggage as heavy as 20 to 30 kg. The buses dropped us at the hotel gate, where no hotel porter was deputed to help us. Some of us hailed autorickshaws to reach the building. The hotel refused to let us into the lobby and we entered from the rear," he said.

The travellers were told the hotel staff wouldn't touch their baggage and they would have to carry them up the stairs to their rooms. "The 11th floor -- on the third level -- was allotted to us. Travellers in their seventies said it would be impossible to climb the 80-odd steps with their bags. They pleaded to be allowed to use an elevator, but the staff did not relent," said one of the quarantined guests.

They also complained of poor quality meals. "On March 26, we were asked to check out at 10am to be driven back to the hospital for our discharge documents. Our Covid test results had come negative. Around 40 to 50 of us waited in the hotel porch. But the government buses did not arrive till 3pm and during these five hours, the hotel did not allow us to use restrooms on the lower level. They said we would have to go up to the third level where we had stayed to use restrooms. One of the senior citizens broke down as he needed to use the restroom often and had to climb up thrice," the former CEO said.

In a statement, the hotel said: "We have complied with all the necessary protocols issued by the local authorities... and maintained all hygiene processes. A separate floor has been allocated to these guests with a separate staircase to avoid any contact with other guests. One elevator has been earmarked solely for them. A special menu has been curated after consultation with doctors and is delivered in disposable containers to avoid any contact."

A senior BMC official said they were aware of the woes. "We have had to send our staff for carrying the travellers' baggage. We have requested the hotel to allow the quarantined guests to use elevators. We also got our teams to sanitise the area. We expected cooperation from the hotel as it was the nearest to the airport and travellers were ready to pay for their stay," the official said.

