Temporary quarantine centres, strict screening plan at Mumbai airport post-lockdown

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Saturday formulated standard operating procedures (SOP) for post-lockdown, as safety measures

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Saturday formulated standard operating procedures (SOP) for post-lockdown, as safety measures amid the Covid-19 outbreak, for the passengers. These include social distancing, stringent thermal screening and positioning temporary quarantine centres. It has also assured to continue to sanitise and disinfect the airport to ensure the safety and well-being of the passengers, once operations resume.

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Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said, “In the initial phase of resuming operations, the airport will be functioning with 50% staff strength, as per the directives from the government. The airport maintenance staff have been provided with cleaning equipment to sanitise and disinfect the terminal building, including the vital areas such as elevator buttons, escalators, immigration counters etc.”

To enable safety precautions at the airport, as CSMIA plans to follow social distancing through distinctive markings at both the terminals; 1.5 meters distance will be maintained between each passenger. MIAL said special markings for this purpose will be the entry gate, check-in counters, self-check-in kiosks, security checkpoints, food courts, lounge area and the boarding area. MIAL has reshuffled seating arrangements at the food court as well as in the terminal building to encourage social distancing.

CSMIA has also created quarantine centres at both the terminals of the airport in case any passenger shows symptoms of Covid-19 during the screening, which will be conducted before entering the terminal building.

The airport authority has not only appealed to the passengers to wear masks and gloves during their entire travel but also to check-in online and use cashless payment mode at the food joints and retail stores at the airports.

The operator is also conducting meetings of the airport stakeholders and is conducting specialised training sessions for all airport personnel. “MIAL will be keeping a close watch on the new way of functionalities of passengers and operations and will improvise on the observations made, once services resume,” added the spokesperson.