Combating Covid-19: Emirates issues new safety measures for passengers of special flights

Dubai - The airline has issued guidelines for travellers to ensure their health and safety.

Outbound passengers flying with Emirates airline - which resumed select passenger flights on Monday - will have to adhere to strict safety and hygiene measures if they want to board the flight. Post suspension of air travel, the first Emirates flight to Frankfurt took off from Dubai at 9.40am and landed at 2.08pm.
The airline has issued guidelines for travellers to ensure their health and safety and that of the cabin crew on these special flights amid the Covid-19 situation.
"Passengers are reminded to bring their own face masks, hand gloves and abide by social distancing rules. Passengers will undergo thermal screening procedures at the airport," the carrier said on its website.
Also, cabin baggage will not be accepted on these flights except laptops, handbags, briefcases or baby items. All other items will be checked in at the counter.
Food and beverages will be served but in modified packaging to reduce contact during meal services. All Emirates aircraft will also go through a disinfection process in Dubai after each journey.
Emirates' lounge and chauffeur services will be temporarily unavailable during this period. It advised all passengers to arrive three hours prior to departure at Terminal 2 to avoid any delays.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London's StrategicAero Research, said it's not surprising that Emirates would refuse boarding to passengers that fail to comply with screening requests prior to boarding as safety has always been the utmost priority of the Dubai carrier.
"The inherent risk and indiscriminate way that this virus affects people of all ages and genders means that Emirates has little choice but to take as many preventative and evasive actions so that passenger safety is not compromised, so that staff welfare is ensured and that flights can operate safely, too," said Ahmad.
"Covid-19 is absolutely unchartered territory for everyone. Any divergence from compliance increases transmission risks and Emirates, like other airlines, is absolutely right and duty-bound to enforce rules to ensure that safety is prioritised - if that means offloading non-compliant passengers, then so be it," he added.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com