At least 289 passengers of a Dubai-bound flight were offloaded at the airport in Kochi on Sunday shortly before takeoff after a UK national among them tested positive for novel coronavirus, official sources said.

The passenger belonged to a group of 19 holidaying in the hill resort town of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillance, a Cochin International Airport Limited spokesman said.

He joined the group to reach the Kochi airport without informing authorities in Munnar, he said.

When the test result came, the authorities came to know that he was at the Kochi airport and travelling by an Emirates flight. Firstly, it was decided to offload all 19 passengers of his group, he said.

'Now, it is decided to offload the remaining 270 pax also and send them to hospital for further investigation', the spokesman said.