BHOPAL: Despite high alert over Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19), Airport authority here has not installed any health screening system at Raja Bhoj Airport for travelers arriving from foreign countries specially those identified in the union health ministry list. As per authorities the instructions for setting such system stands only for international airports.
To check the spread of the Covid-19, Health department (Central as well as state governments) has already instructed for screening passengers at airports to identify suspects.
Airport director Anil Vikram Singh said, “As per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms, Airport authority installs screening system at only international airports and so we have not installed any such screening system at domestic airport like Bhopal.”
As per circular of DGCA, universal screening of all the passengers coming in flights directly from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore besides the flights from China and Hong Kong shall be ensured immediately once they step out of the specific identified aerobridge.
It is advised to place the suitable signage’s at strategic locations at all the airports and getting the self-declaration form filled by the passengers as per the instructions of the ministry of health and family welfare," it added.
However, DGCA has asked airlines and airports to take specific measures such as providing protective gears like surgical masks and gloves to crew members and passengers and having multiple hand sanitizing points in terminals. The aviation regulator stated that airports and airlines must ensure that each aircraft arriving from South Korea, Japan and Italy is subjected to disinfection process before the boarding begins.
