Preparations and advice were received from the governmental and international institutions in the aviation sector for travellers in the UAE airports especially in the Emirates that are leading the way in the return of activity to the sector from transit trips to the return of regular flights gradually to enjoy a safe journey beyond the concerns of the spread of the Coronavirus.
Precautionary tips for travelling through the UAE airports amid the spread of Corona
According to official data, the airlines and government institutions affiliated with the sector in the region announce in succession with the return of travel activity in some countries for new offers and flights, as yesterday UAE airports announced the resumption of scheduled operations of foreign airlines at the emirate’s international airport, with 13 international airlines resuming their flights Scheduled this week following the recent decisions and facilities taken by the Dubai government, which included allowing travel starting from June 23, and beginning to receive tourists as of July 7.
On Thursday, UAE airports announced that it will resume operating flights to 6 other destinations, which will give its customers more options to travel to and through Dubai. This brings the number of stations served by the company by mid-August 2020 to 58 destinations, including 20 cities in Europe and 24 cities in the Asia Pacific region.
Etihad Aviation Group also operates flights between Abu Dhabi and more than 50 destinations around the world in July, and to promote its flights and the return of activity, on Wednesday, EgyptAir offered discounts on all its flights from Cairo to the cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
In Kuwait, the General Administration of Civil Aviation announced the detailed plan to restart commercial flights at Kuwait International Airport, including the return of activity on the first of next August, to reach full operational capacity in August 2021.
But in Saudi Arabia, the airlines confirmed earlier that all international flights are still pending until further notice, stressing at the same time that the flights will be run gradually and this will be announced through official channels.
Safe travel through UAE Airports
On the same level, according to an official statement and to ensure the health of travellers, the last international institution that gave advice to travellers in the region and other countries as a whole is the “World Council for Travel and Tourism”, which is a statement issued today, Friday, called on all travellers to wear protective masks for the face, i.e. the mask and what guarantees them “safe travel”.
The council asked governments around the world to impose the wearing of face masks, in addition to seeking the support of the private sector to remind clients of the obligation to protect their own health and that of other travellers.
Recently, the Council issued some new guidelines for safe and easy travel, which confirm that the use of face masks with frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer greatly endanger the risk of “corona” transmission.
As for the first airports that returned flights in Dubai, the Emirate Airports Corporation confirmed in a statement the implementation of precautionary measures throughout the airport to preserve the health and safety of customers and employees.
She explained that these measures include a protective mesh glass in the area of termination of travel procedures and passport ports, remote thermal examination and temperature examination, physical spacing marks, and increased levels of sterilization in accordance with international standards set by the relevant authorities while continuing to fully commit to supporting measures taken to ensure Health and safety of everyone.
Dubai sets 6 conditions
According to the Supreme Committee for Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai, to allow entry for the next tourist to Dubai through its airports, he must fulfil the entry requirements to the state and these requirements are:
1- It is mandatory for the traveller to obtain international health insurance, while all tourists are alerted to the importance of downloading the application (COVID-19 DXB) and recording their data therein, to facilitate the possibility of communicating with health authorities in the event of symptoms of infection with the virus.
2- The tourist must, before leaving the next party, do a Corona Examination (PCR) 4 days (96 hours), with a maximum of travel time to Dubai, and show what is proven to be free of the virus upon arrival at Dubai airports.
3- The same examination is carried out at Dubai airports if this is not available to prove that it is free from infection with the virus.
4- The tourist must fill in the “health disclosure form” before leaving the destination from which the airline has the right to refuse the travel of the traveller if there are health symptoms associated with the epidemic.
5- All arrivals at the airport are subject to temperature measurement through thermal scanners. In case of suspicion of the presence of symptoms of infection, the airport administration has the right to re-examine the tourist to make sure that it is free of the virus.
6- It will be mandatory for a tourist who is confirmed to be infected with the virus to download the application (COVID-19 DXB) and record his data on it, and obligate him to adhere to the institutional isolation designated by the government for a period of 14 days at his own expense.
Adherence to all procedures approved by the control and control centre to combat the Coronavirus regarding positive infected cases.
10 preventive measures conducted in UAE Airports
In the UAE as well, Abu Dhabi Airports have taken a package of precautionary and preventive measures in all of its facilities to preserve the health and safety of employees and travellers to reduce the spread of the new Coronavirus (COFED-19), in conjunction with the announcement of national carriers to resume flights through Abu Dhabi Airport gradually.
The precautionary measures and preventive measures are taken by Abu Dhabi Airport that must be followed by travellers and employees to ensure their health is 10 main steps:
1- Smart sterilization gates: The first steps of the traveller’s journey begin by going through the smart sterilization gates stationed at the main entrances and exits of the UAE airports, which work to measure the person’s body temperature first when entering the gate and alerting the parties concerned if the person’s temperature is higher than normal.
2- “Contactless elevators”: The second step of the traveller’s journey is to use elevators supported by contactless control systems to enable him to control the elevators by pointing by hand remotely towards the required options and shown on the control panel, while the traveller can use the escalators equipped with self-sterilization technology.
3- “Gag and Gloves via Smart Devices”: Before the traveller goes on his journey, obtaining facial masks and hand gloves provided by Abu Dhabi Airport in the third stage of the traveller’s journey comes through providing them through a number of smart devices.
4- “Thermal monitoring cameras”: the fourth stage, which is to pass through the thermal monitoring cameras at the entrance towards the check-in area.
5- “Online check-in”: As the traveller arrives in the fifth stage of his flight to the airport check-in area to complete the procedures via the Internet or through the application of Etihad Airways.
6- “Self-Service Platform”: The sixth stage comes with the arrival of the traveller to the self-service platform to register the arrival procedures, which was recently activated, as it uses facial recognition technology to examine the health and safety of travellers at the airport.
7- “Business Class Lounge”: In the seventh stage, the traveller arrives at the Business Class Lounge, which applies precautionary measures through sterilization and the application of standards for physical distance between travellers, in addition to ensuring that employees wear personal protection tools.
8- “Thermal checkpoint”: On the way to the plane, the eighth stage of the traveller’s journey is represented by crossing through the thermal checkpoint equipped with monitoring cameras, where the camera checks the traveller’s temperature and whether he wears the face mask and alerts the concerned staff in the event that it is not worn.
9 – “A new shopping experience”: The new shopping experience in the free market comes in the ninth stage of the traveller’s journey, as the traveller notes that the shopping areas are not open as usual, in order to ensure the application of standards for physical spacing and maintain the health and safety of everyone while travellers can shop using mobile applications and the Duty-Free website at Abu Dhabi Airports and delivering the orders of their choice directly before boarding their flights.
10- “Boarding Pass”: The tenth and final stage of the traveller’s journey is to board the plane, as the physical distance is maintained by summoning only a small number of travellers each time, and with the passage of passengers from the gate, they are required to clear the boarding pass. Them themselves and raise their passports to verify it to avoid any friction between passengers and employees, while they must adhere to the standards of physical distance and leave a safe distance between passengers during the boarding process.
