Airports beef up COVID-19 preventions ahead of holiday
SHANGHAI’S Pudong and Hongqiao airports have strengthened COVID-19 prevention measures for the Spring Festival travel rush that began yesterday and will run through March 8.
All people entering the airport terminals must wear masks and receive infrared temperature checks. Passengers arriving from medium- and high-risk regions will be subject to strict quarantine management, the Shanghai Airport Authority officials said.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has predicted that domestic carriers will handle about 39 million travelers during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush this year, the same number as last year but fewer than 2019.
Many regional governments have implemented policies to discourage people from traveling during the holiday, officials from China Eastern Airlines said.
The Shanghai-based carrier has increased flights to popular destinations such as Beijing, south China’s Hainan Island and the southwest
Yunnan Province. Based on January 26 ticket sales, the most popular destinations from Shanghai are Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the southern Guangdong Province, Sanya in Hainan Island, Chengdu in the southwest Sichuan Province and Chongqing.
The peak day for departures is expected to be February 11, the Chinese New Year’s Eve, while the return peak is expected around February 17.
China Eastern has assigned many wide-body aircraft, normally used on international flights, on popular domestic routes, including HongqiaoShenzhen, Hongqiao-Sanya and Beijing-Shenzhen.
“The airline has launched touch-less, paperless and other smart services to reduce contact among travelers and airline staff,” an official with the carrier said.
China’s first ticket counter within a boarding hall was launched at the Hongqiao airport to change or rebook tickets without going through security a second time.
China Eastern opened the counter in the airport’s T2 terminal, enabling travelers to change their itineraries, upgrade seats and print tickets near boarding gates.
Previously, travelers who had to change their flights at boarding gates were required to return to ticket counters and go through security again.
The new process is designed to reduce queuing time at security checks and lessen the risk of COVID-19 cross infection, China Eastern officials said.
To reduce contact, the airport authority has made most security check channels selfservice, enabling passengers to scan their ID cards and faces to complete the process. Passengers are reminded to stay at least a meter away from another passenger when waiting to go through security.
Eighteen new self-service check-in machines are up and running at Hongqiao, allowing passengers to check-in tickets and luggage on their own. They can also board aircraft via facial recognition at Gate 47 in Hongqiao’s T2 terminal.
Travelers can also buy masks and sanitizer at the information centers. A disinfection robot has been deployed in the T2 terminal to sterilize 10,000 square meters of public space, and ultraviolet sterilizing machines continuously disinfect luggage trolleys.