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ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE
SPECIAL REPORT: PASSENGER FACILITATION
Road to recovery Joe Bates provides a snapshot of how the region’s airports have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and are planning for a brighter future.
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he region’s airports have turned to technology and new processes and procedures to ensure that they are equipped, ready and able to handle passengers when government’s finally lift travel restrictions and commercial flights can effectively begin again. Canberra (CBR), Doha (DOH), Dubai (DXB) and Hong Kong (HKG) have been among the most high profile in announcing their new measures, which have included everything from the introduction of touchless technology and quarantine rooms to robotic cleaners. Canberra Airport in Australia, for example, was the first Australian gateway to install new temperature scanning equipment ahead of the return of passenger traffic. The airport is currently handling around 90 domestic flights per week between Canberra and four destinations (Brisbane, Newcastle, Melbourne and Sydney), with Adelaide and a trans-Tasman service to Wellington in New Zealand set to join them in July. APA Issue 2, 2020
According to head of aviation, Michael Thomson, temperature screening and other new COVID-19 precautions show that Canberra Airport is a safe and secure place for passengers. “Passengers departing Canberra arrive at airport security as usual and as they pass through security a camera takes their image and records their temperature in real-time,” explains Thomson. “If a passenger has a body temperature over 37.8ºF they will be attended by a registered nurse immediately. The nurse will provide a face mask, offer to take their temperature again, and ask the passenger to participate in a questionnaire. “If a passenger continues to display signs of high temperature or fever, then the airline they intend to travel with will be informed. This way both the individual passenger and the airlines will be best informed to make sensible decisions about whether the passenger should be travelling at this time. “This is one measure in a suite of measures we are employing through and
