UN Agency Sets Procedures for Flight Operations

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has announced procedures for airlines as it looks forward to reopening the sector ravaged by coronavirus pandemic.

The United Nations (UN) agency, ICAO, said airlines must ensure a social distance of at least one meter between passengers, besides mandatory wearing of face masks by both the passengers and airline crew in line with directives by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In its report dubbed ‘Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the Covid-19 Public Health Crisis’, the agency added that all passengers must be tested before and after every flight.

In addition, any passenger showing Covid-19 symptoms or indicating exposure to the virus should be isolated.

All passengers will be required to submit health declaration forms for Covid-19, in line with the recommendations of relevant health authorities. This is besides the use of internet-based platforms for contact tracing.

Airlines will also ensure passengers do not board or alight in close proximity.

All areas within the airlines and airports must be cleaned and disinfected based on operational risk assessments.

“ICAO recommends a phased approach to enable the safe return to high-volume domestic and international air travel for passengers and cargo… The approach introduces a core set of measures to form a baseline aviation health safety protocol to protect air passengers and aviation workers from Covid-19. These measures will enable the growth of global aviation as it recovers from the current pandemic,” ICAO said in the report released on Monday, June 1, 2020.

ICAO, the United Nations (UN) agency, in charge of planning and development of international air transport, projects that by the end of 2020, airlines will lose up to Sh33.284 trillion ($314 billion) while airports will lose Sh10.6 trillion ($100 billion) underlining the adverse effects of the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus

The global aviation industry shut down in March to curb the spread of Covid-19 and now most of the airlines including Kenya Airways have turned to the state for emergency funding.