Belgium’s Brussels Airport has been selected by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as one of the pilot airports for implementing operational recommendations linked to Covid-19. Brussels Airport will therefore be developing best practices for a safe restart of passenger travel. Besides the measures that were already in place at the airport, systematic body temperature checks will be introduced for all passengers from June 15 to enable travel in optimal sanitary conditions.
EASA has set up a monitoring program of its recommendations in which several airports set the example in implementing and following up certain measures and help develop new best practices. The pioneering airports commit to abide by the EASA guidelines that are drawn up in consultation with both European aviation and public health authorities (including the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control) and to look for practical solutions for the aviation industry in this unprecedented crisis.
Over the past few months, Brussels Airport has put in place several sanitary measures to welcome passengers in a safe way and to ensure as much as possible the health of the few hundred passengers a day who had to take a plane for their essential travel. Social distancing, hand hygiene and the wearing of a face mask (mandatory since May 11) are the major elements. The body temperature controls will add a further layer of public health safety and reassurance.
Brussels Airport will install thermal cameras, which will be placed on the curb in front of the departures hall, to check all passengers before they enter the terminal. Persons with a body temperature of more than 38°C can be denied access to the terminal. For arriving passengers, a mobile body temperature monitoring unit will be put in place to check the body temperature.
Persons who are not traveling themselves or are not working at the airport, will not be allowed to enter the terminal.
Brussels Airport has previously put in place hundreds of stickers and posters on the floors and walls since the beginning of the crisis, to remind passengers about social distancing. Additional markings and signage has been installed in view of increasing passenger traffic in the coming weeks. Additional queueing barriers will also be set up in the terminal.
Hand sanitizer dispensers are available around the terminal and Brussels Airport also upped the cleaning and disinfection frequency for baggage trolleys and the trays at security screening as well as the sanitary blocks and the general infrastructure.
At the check-in rows, additional mobile units will be installed where people can wash their hands. Moreover, frequently touched surfaces such as vending machine keyboards and door handles in the sanitary blocks will be given a self-disinfecting coating that kills bacteria and viruses. Another addition is the use of UV sanitizing technology to disinfect trolleys and the use of a robot to disinfect the floors.