New Delhi: The rapid spread of Ebola has raised questions over whether
passengers flying into Indian airports from African countries are being
put through an efficient detection process and suspected cases quickly
quarantined.
Every day, 12 planes land in Delhi from African countries.
Ever since the epidemic's outbreak, routine announcements are made in all aircraft taking off for India. Passengers must fill forms that ask them if they've recently travelled to Africa and are suffering from fever, cough or cold.
"Announcements are made when the aircraft is on ground at foreign airports. If someone shows extreme symptoms, the crew can recommend deplaning of a passenger," an airline official says. In mid-August, DGCA issued self-reporting directives to airlines.
The voluntary-disclosure process is supposed to be more stringent on flights from Africa. But everything is voluntary and there's no way to tell if a passenger's statement is truthful. The only way a claim can be crosschecked is at the immigration desk, where queues would be unmanageable if officials were to scrutinize each passport.
Read news in full 16/10/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
Every day, 12 planes land in Delhi from African countries.
Ever since the epidemic's outbreak, routine announcements are made in all aircraft taking off for India. Passengers must fill forms that ask them if they've recently travelled to Africa and are suffering from fever, cough or cold.
"Announcements are made when the aircraft is on ground at foreign airports. If someone shows extreme symptoms, the crew can recommend deplaning of a passenger," an airline official says. In mid-August, DGCA issued self-reporting directives to airlines.
The voluntary-disclosure process is supposed to be more stringent on flights from Africa. But everything is voluntary and there's no way to tell if a passenger's statement is truthful. The only way a claim can be crosschecked is at the immigration desk, where queues would be unmanageable if officials were to scrutinize each passport.
Read news in full 16/10/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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