Christ Yoder
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MUMBAI: Put on facial mask to boarding flights is the new standard for air travel, but what should be the standard if there is an in-flight emergency involving a problem with the aircraft’s pressurization system and oxygen levels in the cabin falls? Passengers must remove their face masks before using the oxygen masks deployed in the cabin, said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC ) in their recently published operational guidelines on air travel during the Covid pandemic. .
“Aircraft operators should include in their safety demonstrations that in an emergency, passengers should remove their face masks before using the aircraft’s oxygen masks. In addition, aircraft operators should give instructions to their crew members remove their protective masks in an emergency to make it easier to communicate instructions to passengers, ”the guidelines from EASA and ECDC said.
While most countries, including India, have published guidelines on biosecurity measures to be taken when traveling by air to contain the spread of the coronavirus; certain aspects such as the management on board of a suspected Covid-positive passenger or the management of an in-flight emergency have not, for the moment at least, been examined in detail.
The EASA / ECDC guidelines, however, have fully addressed both concerns.
“The passenger should be isolated on board. Depending on the configuration of the aircraft, the actual occupancy and distribution of passengers, the position of the symptomatic case and to the extent possible,” he said.
Airlines should define an isolation zone, leaving, if possible, two rows of seats unobstructed in each direction around the suspect passenger. “Taking all the factors into account, whenever possible, the suspect passenger should be seated in the window seat of the last row, preferably on the side of the aircraft where the relief valve is located. As far as possible, the toilets closest to the suspect passenger should be specifically designated for them and not be used by the rest of the passengers or crew, ”says the directive.
Depending on the cabin crew composition, the senior cabin crew member must designate a specific crew member (s) to provide the necessary in-flight service to the isolation area (s). This cabin crew member must be the one who has had previous contact with the suspect passenger. The designated crew member should use the EAR in the Universal Aircraft Safety Kit. The designated crew member should minimize close contact with
other crew members and avoid any other unnecessary contact with other passengers.
“Whenever possible, the symptomatic passenger’s individual air supply nozzle should be closed to limit the potential spread of droplets. If the suspect passenger is traveling accompanied, the passenger’s companions should also be confined to the isolation area even if they do. have no symptoms, ”the guidelines said.
The flight crew must inform the destination airport through the air traffic control system, follow their instructions and complete the health part of the general aircraft declaration to record the health information on board and submit it to the point of Entrance health authorities when requested by the representative of a State. After the flight has landed and other passengers have disembarked, the single passenger and, if applicable, crew members should be transferred in accordance with instructions provided by local public health authorities.
“Passengers who were seated 2 seats in all directions from the suspected case may be considered close contacts and will need to be interviewed by public health authorities in the country of entry, if the suspected case is confirmed,” said he declared.
“Subject to the decision of public health authorities, the crew member designated to provide onboard services for the suspicious passenger, and other crew members who may have been in direct contact with the suspicious passenger, should benefit transport to facilities where they can clean and disinfect before having physical contact with other people. Alternatively, as a last resort, after carefully disposing of used PPE and washing and disinfecting their hands, Respective cabin crew members could be isolated on board, in a quarantine area, before returning to base or to a stopover destination, ”the guidelines say.
In coordination with the relevant public health authorities, aircraft operators should endeavor to receive information on the outcome of the suspected case’s tests as soon as possible. The crew member (s) who provided in-flight service to the passenger with symptoms compatible with Covid-19 should be considered a close contact and instructed to take appropriate self-isolation measures after returning to their base. ‘origin. If the suspected case is confirmed positive, the respective crew member (s) should be quarantined for 14 days from the last contact with the confirmed positive passenger, unless otherwise directed by local public health authorities. If the test is negative, they can resume their flight duties.
“After the withdrawal of the suspected Covid-19 case, the cleaning and disinfection of the aircraft must be carried out in accordance with the EASA interim guidelines on the cleaning and disinfection of aircraft. Used PPE, such as aprons, face masks, face shields should be disposed of in a tightly closed garbage bag that can be disposed of as ordinary waste.
The incubation period for the SARS-CoV-2 virus is between 1 and 14 days, with a median incubation period of 5.1 days. 75% of cases have an incubation period greater than 4 days and only 2.5% of cases have an incubation period less than 2 days.
“In this context, it is considered that, even if already in the incubation period, a person is most likely not contagious within the first 2 days after exposure. If a suspicious passenger is identified on board before take off, the airport and local health authorities must be informed and their instructions followed. At this point, if no specific direct contact has taken place between the symptomatic passenger and crew members, no further action should be taken with respect to crew member management, unless otherwise specified by authorities. local public health ”, indicates the EASA / ECDC directive.
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“Aircraft operators should include in their safety demonstrations that in an emergency, passengers should remove their face masks before using the aircraft’s oxygen masks. In addition, aircraft operators should give instructions to their crew members remove their protective masks in an emergency to make it easier to communicate instructions to passengers, ”the guidelines from EASA and ECDC said.
While most countries, including India, have published guidelines on biosecurity measures to be taken when traveling by air to contain the spread of the coronavirus; certain aspects such as the management on board of a suspected Covid-positive passenger or the management of an in-flight emergency have not, for the moment at least, been examined in detail.
The EASA / ECDC guidelines, however, have fully addressed both concerns.
“The passenger should be isolated on board. Depending on the configuration of the aircraft, the actual occupancy and distribution of passengers, the position of the symptomatic case and to the extent possible,” he said.
Airlines should define an isolation zone, leaving, if possible, two rows of seats unobstructed in each direction around the suspect passenger. “Taking all the factors into account, whenever possible, the suspect passenger should be seated in the window seat of the last row, preferably on the side of the aircraft where the relief valve is located. As far as possible, the toilets closest to the suspect passenger should be specifically designated for them and not be used by the rest of the passengers or crew, ”says the directive.
Depending on the cabin crew composition, the senior cabin crew member must designate a specific crew member (s) to provide the necessary in-flight service to the isolation area (s). This cabin crew member must be the one who has had previous contact with the suspect passenger. The designated crew member should use the EAR in the Universal Aircraft Safety Kit. The designated crew member should minimize close contact with
other crew members and avoid any other unnecessary contact with other passengers.
“Whenever possible, the symptomatic passenger’s individual air supply nozzle should be closed to limit the potential spread of droplets. If the suspect passenger is traveling accompanied, the passenger’s companions should also be confined to the isolation area even if they do. have no symptoms, ”the guidelines said.
The flight crew must inform the destination airport through the air traffic control system, follow their instructions and complete the health part of the general aircraft declaration to record the health information on board and submit it to the point of Entrance health authorities when requested by the representative of a State. After the flight has landed and other passengers have disembarked, the single passenger and, if applicable, crew members should be transferred in accordance with instructions provided by local public health authorities.
“Passengers who were seated 2 seats in all directions from the suspected case may be considered close contacts and will need to be interviewed by public health authorities in the country of entry, if the suspected case is confirmed,” said he declared.
“Subject to the decision of public health authorities, the crew member designated to provide onboard services for the suspicious passenger, and other crew members who may have been in direct contact with the suspicious passenger, should benefit transport to facilities where they can clean and disinfect before having physical contact with other people. Alternatively, as a last resort, after carefully disposing of used PPE and washing and disinfecting their hands, Respective cabin crew members could be isolated on board, in a quarantine area, before returning to base or to a stopover destination, ”the guidelines say.
In coordination with the relevant public health authorities, aircraft operators should endeavor to receive information on the outcome of the suspected case’s tests as soon as possible. The crew member (s) who provided in-flight service to the passenger with symptoms compatible with Covid-19 should be considered a close contact and instructed to take appropriate self-isolation measures after returning to their base. ‘origin. If the suspected case is confirmed positive, the respective crew member (s) should be quarantined for 14 days from the last contact with the confirmed positive passenger, unless otherwise directed by local public health authorities. If the test is negative, they can resume their flight duties.
“After the withdrawal of the suspected Covid-19 case, the cleaning and disinfection of the aircraft must be carried out in accordance with the EASA interim guidelines on the cleaning and disinfection of aircraft. Used PPE, such as aprons, face masks, face shields should be disposed of in a tightly closed garbage bag that can be disposed of as ordinary waste.
The incubation period for the SARS-CoV-2 virus is between 1 and 14 days, with a median incubation period of 5.1 days. 75% of cases have an incubation period greater than 4 days and only 2.5% of cases have an incubation period less than 2 days.
“In this context, it is considered that, even if already in the incubation period, a person is most likely not contagious within the first 2 days after exposure. If a suspicious passenger is identified on board before take off, the airport and local health authorities must be informed and their instructions followed. At this point, if no specific direct contact has taken place between the symptomatic passenger and crew members, no further action should be taken with respect to crew member management, unless otherwise specified by authorities. local public health ”, indicates the EASA / ECDC directive.
