Passengers flying home from Melbourne to Sydney on a Jetstar flight on Tuesday night were able to get off the plane without undergoing a health screen for symptoms of coronavirus.

The major health breach was confirmed by Jetstar to NCA NewsWire and allows some people to enter the major city without being tested. 

A Jetstar spokesman said crew assisted health officials who were reportedly not present at the time the plane landed by locating passengers in the terminal.

The airline also provided officials with the aircraft manifest to assist them in contacting passengers who were not found in the terminal.

“Together with Sydney Airport, we have refined our disembarkation procedures to prevent this situation from occurring again,” the spokesman said.

Passengers had been screened in Melbourne but it is government policy that they are tested again before disembarking in Sydney.

This process usually begins after health officials arrive at the gate and signal to plane crew that they are ready to receive disembarking passengers, but under the new protocol, planes will not be able to pull up to the gate before NSW Health Officials are ready.

The screening test includes a temperature check and questions about whether passengers have experienced coronavirus symptoms and if they have travelled to any hot spots in the past two weeks.

The NSW Government introduced new laws on Tuesday night that prohibits anyone from Greater Melbourne from travelling into the state. 

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said the government was “in the process” of chasing up the passengers.

“If anyone is found to have travelled in breach of any orders we’ll refer them to police and take the appropriate action, depending on whether anyone is symptomatic, to ensure the community is protected,” she said.