An Indonesian man hid under the cover of his burqa in order to board a flight despite testing positive for COVID-19, officials said.
The man, identified by his initials DW, was reportedly able to board a Citilink flight recently from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to return to his hometown of Ternate, Maluku despite having COVID-19.
The Ternate COVID-19 Task Force said DW used his wife’s negative PCR test result to pass security checkpoints at Halim. He hid his identity and disguised himself as his own wife by wearing a burqa to the airport.
His deception was uncovered when a flight attendant noticed that he changed out of the burqa and into his shirt in the bathroom during the flight.
He was subjected to a COVID test at Ternate’s Sultan Baabulah Airport, which came out positive.
It seems for now, DW got his wish of returning home.
“He was transported on an ambulance for self-isolation at home, and he will be under the supervision of task force officers,” Ternate COVID-19 Task Force Head Muhammad Arif Gani said.
It remains to be seen if DW would face criminal charges. Gani said airport security is going to step up their screening efforts in light of this incident.
