1,300 screened at city airport in a day as new rule makes checks must for all

With the Union civil aviation ministry advising international airports to screen all international arrivals for coronavirus, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

With the Union civil aviation ministry advising international airports to screen all international arrivals for coronavirus, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) screened more than 1,300 passengers across 16 flights on Wednesday. Previously, only passengers from 12 countries, including China, South Korea, Italy, Japan, Iran, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, were being screened for fever and other symptoms of COVID-19, caused by a new strain of coronavirus. The airport has also made it mandatory for all travellers to fill out forms declaring their travel history and health indicators.

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A spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL), which runs CSMIA, said 25 hand-held devices and 65 trained medical professionals were working across three shifts at the airport, to screen arriving passengers smoothly and efficiently. “As on March 4, CSMIA screened more than 1,300 passengers across 16 flights. Till date, CSMIA has screened around 69,000 passengers across 580 flights at the airport,” said the spokesperson. The airport is expected to get additional screening staff from the state government.

The screening process delayed the embarkation process and led to overcrowding in some areas. “They [airport staff] placed an instrument on our foreheads to read our body temperature,” said Ulhasnagar resident Tarun Chandwani, who had been to Bali on his honeymoon with his wife, Geeta. “Filling of forms after deplaning from the aircraft took time,” said Geeta.

Ulrika Anderson, a Swedish national who flew in from Munich to Mumbai for a business trip, said, “The authorities gave two forms to all the passengers in my flight, which had to be filled as soon as we de-boarded the aircraft. After filling the forms, health ministry officials took one of the forms and the other one was taken by the immigration officials. The officials also checked if our body temperature was above normal.”

CSMIA’s ground staff said filling the forms was time-consuming and leading to crowds in the aerobridge area.

Aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), had issued guidelines on Tuesday, instructing airport staff to use sanitizer and use personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical masks, gloves and disposable shoe covers.