Emirates increases safety precautions for passengers and crew
Emirates increases safety precautions for passengers and crew. The Dubai based airline has stepped up its safety measures for both crew and passengers. This is due to the coronavirus which had used air transport as a medium to spread on a global scale which has resulted in suspension of flights and grounding of aircraft.
The impact of coronavirus is starting to hit airline which were already struggling financially such as South African Airways and Virgin Australia.
Emirates was one of the first few airlines to lay out a set of safety precautions to be followed on its flights. These are to ensure the safety for both the passenger as well as the crew.
Safety precautions laid down by Emirates
At Dubai International Airport
Emirates has set down a set of precautions to be followed at its hub Dubai International Airport. The airline has insisted gloves and masks are mandatory for both passengers as well as staff at the airport.
All the cabin crew, passengers, boarding agents and staff in contact with passengers should have Personal Protective equipment also known as PPE which include a protective disposable gown over their uniforms, and a safety visor, in addition to masks and gloves.
Like all the other airports physical distancing will be a new norm during check in, boarding. In addition to this, Dubai Airport has installed protective barriers at each check in desk to provide safety for the passenger as well as the staff. The airline had recently restarted a few of it flights to help passengers reach their country of origin.
Inflight safety measures
Emirates has left the middle seat in its aircraft vacant in accordance with social distancing and will pre allocate seats for its passengers. Food will be served in bento-styled boxes to minimise the contact between the cabin crew and the passenger. These boxes would contain sandwiches, snacks, beverages and dessert.
To further minimise the contact, inflight print and readable material will be made unavailable. This means there will be no inflight magazine and safety card and other hard copies of reading material.
Cabin baggage will currently not be accepted on flights but carry of laptop, handbags, brief case and baby items are exempted. The carry on baggage can be checked in along with the check-in baggage. The cabin baggage allowance will be added to check-in baggage allowance.
Further it has been made mandatory for passengers to wear gloves and masks. The aircraft will also be subjected to heavy disinfectant and cleaning process.
Rapid Coronavirus testing
Emirates became the first airline in the world to conduct rapid coronavirus testing when they tested the departing passengers to Tunis recently. Quick blood tests were done with the results appearing in 10 minutes.
“The testing process has gone smoothly and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Dubai Health Authority for their initiatives and innovative solutions. This would have not been possible without the support of Dubai Airport and other government authorities.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer had said in a statement
She also added that plans were being worked out to carry out these testing procedures for other flights. This will enable Emirates to be sure of the condition of the passenger and also provide certification of non presence of COVID-19 for the passenger.
These tests were conducted at the group check in area of Dubai International Airport Terminal-3. This was done in co-ordination with the Dubai Health Authority.
Conclusion
Aviation Industry will never be the same after this pandemic. The crisis will have changed the way airlines operate, passengers travel and the way the industry works. The safety precautions brought by Emirates is just an example of how the post coronavirus air travel will be.
We don’t know when we will get back to seeing the skies filled with contrails and aircrafts, but when we do it would be a whole different when compared to pre-corona at least for the near future.
