BA baggage handlers fall sick
Health fears for thousands of travellers who used Heathrow
‘You’re in a confined space at 40,000ft’
TWO British Airways baggage handlers have been diagnosed with coronavirus – sparking fears they could have put thousands of passengers at risk of infection.
The workers are based at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, the UK’s biggest and busiest terminal, where they help load, unload and transport thousands of passengers’ bags.
The unidentified staff tested positive for coronavirus yesterday after an examination by a medical team from Public Health England (PHE) based at the airport.
BA said: ‘The colleagues have been isolated and are recovering at home.’
But because viruses can live on surfaces such as luggage handles for days, their diagnosis will lead to concerns that they could act as ‘super-spreaders’.
The airline has not confirmed when they began showing symptoms or when they were isolated and sent home. But Oliver Richardson, of the Unite union, said: ‘The two BA baggage handlers came down with coronavirus following their own personal travel abroad... not as a result of their employment with the airline.’
Covid-19 is particularly infectious and can survive for up to 96 hours on plastic, metal, glass and other materials.
More than 1.4million bags are put through Heathrow’s security system every day. Terminal 5 handles 32million passengers a year on 211,000 flights. Around 1,300 planes take off or land every day at Heathrow – almost 500,000 annually.
Experts fear airports and passenger jets could be catalysts for infection because they process huge numbers of people from around the world.
Last night, a member of BA’s long-haul cabin crew claimed flight attendants and pilots were at heightened risk of infection because BA planes were not deep-cleaned after every flight.
In fact, jets are only deep-cleaned monthly. The crew member, who asked not to be named, said: ‘They’re given a basic clean by cleaners who use the same cloths to wipe down galleys and surfaces.
‘A plane comes from Hong Kong, it gets a quick wipe and then it goes straight to New York.
‘Cabin crew get a small bottle of hand sanitizer. If someone was to show symptoms there are masks, but you’re in a confined space at 40,000ft, so it won’t do much good.
‘Everybody has raised concerns. But you can’t do anything about it. You can’t refuse to do any flights.’
A BA spokesman said every aircraft was given a ‘regular clean’ after every short-haul flight and a thorough one each evening.
Long-haul flights get a thorough clean after every flight, including seats, seat pockets, tray tables, galleys, toilets, floors, the aircraft interior and surfaces generally.
Monthly deep- cleans of all aircraft return them to a ‘like new’ standard, and involve everything from ceilings to air vents.
Heathrow has introduced a strict hygiene regime since the outbreak of coronavirus in January and staff have been cleaning baggage carousels regularly. A spokesman said baggage handlers working for all airlines had been given gloves, masks and hand sanitizers, as well as lessons in good hand hygiene.
PHE staff at the airport are also advising staff on how to prevent infection and monitoring inbound passengers for signs of symptoms.
Heathrow is still accepting arrivals from Milan, Hong Kong and
Singapore. Travellers who return from these areas must self-quarantine if they develop symptoms.
Research shows droplets spread during flights by infected passengers and crew moving up and down the aisles can infect dozens of travellers. In the 2003 Sars epidemic, 25 were infected by one passenger.
Ministers are not considering stopping flights into the UK after the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said this would only delay the virus’s spread ‘by days’. Suspending flights will also make it harder to get medicines, which are often transported in aircraft holds.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday: ‘If this virus becomes established around the world, there is no way in stopping it from getting to Britain eventually.’