HYDERABAD: Health minister Eatala Rajender inspected the COVID-19 screening equipment at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Monday. He said, “We were previously screening passengers from around 12 countries, but now we are screening every passenger that steps into the airport.”
Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Monday requested the Central government to provide two thermal scanners at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, 50 thermo N95 masks besides two more laboratories for testing of COVID-19 in the State.
This comes when the Airports Council International (ACI) has warned that the prolonged duration of the COVID-19 outbreak will significantly affect the forecasted growth of the airports in Asia-Pacific. The ACI World estimated that passenger traffic volumes is falling by 24 per cent in the region for the first quarter of 2020, compared to forecasted traffic levels without COVID-19.
The impact of COVID-19 is projected to cause a loss of $3 billion.The airport association has urged regulators and governments to implement adjustments and relief measures tailored to suit local level contexts.
Within the Asia-Pacific region, mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and the Republic of Korea remain at the centre of the effects with sizeable losses in traffic volume.
The shortfall in the number of passengers and the cancellation of flights leads to reduced revenues from airport charges such as landing and parking charges paid by airlines, and passenger service and security charges paid by passengers.
A source for RGIA said, "While Hyderabad does not have a lot of international routes, we can see how flights of Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong are practically running empty." Travel agents, especially in Old City who prepare and sell itineraries for Haj and Umrah Pilgrims too have taken a massive hit in business after Saudi Arabia banned Indian umrah pilgrims amid the outbreak.