Arrivals mixed at airport prompts concern
An airline passenger who flew from St. John’s to Halifax on Thursday is concerned that travellers from both inside and outside of the Atlantic Bubble are becoming mixed together in lineups to report to provincial health inspectors at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
However, airport officials say that a mixup on Thursday was a one-off incident which occurred due to a high number of plane arrivals happening around the same time.
Jason Warner from Port Hawkesbury contacted the Chronicle Herald on Friday to register his concerns after a July 30 WestJet flight from Newfoundland where he’s been attending school for the past year. After picking up his luggage, he proceeded toward the winding queue to report to the health inspectors, where signage indicated one line for Atlantic Canadian travellers, and another for those arriving from outside of the four East Coast provinces.
However, once inside the barriers, Warner discovered there was no separation between passengers arriving from either side of the bubble. In his email, he indicated that much of his concern stemmed from the fact he was coming home to visit his parents in Cape Breton, including his immunocompromised mother and 71-year-old father, and was concerned over the possibility of contracting COVID19 from an outside source.
“There was no one guiding passengers and we were just left to our own devices while we picked up our luggage. Everyone was masked as far as I could tell and most people were trying their best to maintain social distancing,” said Warner in a follow-up email on Sunday.
The problem of mixing passengers didn’t become apparent until they were further along the line, in the barricaded zig-zag pattern also familiar from theme park lineups, which made it difficult to maintain social distancing on all sides as the line moved toward the inspection desks.
“I could also hear many other passengers expressing concerns about how the lines were laid out, how social distancing was not being followed and eventually how ridiculous it was that the lines were mixed,” said Warner, who was told by inspectors he would not have to self-isolate, despite having just been in close proximity to others arriving from points west of New Brunswick. He also felt his concerns were not seriously addressed by the inspectors at the time, due to the large number of passengers that were being processed.
After contacting the airport, he was told that Thursday’s confusion was caused by a high volume of traffic arriving all at once, and that normal procedure is to keep the two lines carefully separated. In this instance, a nylon ribbon barrier had been accidentally moved, resulting in the two lines mixing. The inspectors — who are employed by the Nova Scotia Environment department and not Halifax International Airport Authority — were not aware of the mixup until passengers like Warner began bringing it to their attention.
HIAA spokeswoman Tiffany Chase says the airport is working with Nova Scotia Environment to ensure the process of screening passengers continues smoothly as it provides the space and equipment (stanchioned line barriers, signage, desks) for the inspectors to perform their duties.
“The health and safety of our passengers, employees and community members are our top priority,” said Chase in an email on Saturday. “We continue to look at ways to assist the provincial inspection officers when we have high passenger volumes in our arrivals area to ensure those from the Atlantic Bubble remain separated from other passengers.”
Health measures like mandatory masks or face coverings for everyone who uses or works at Halifax Stanfield International Airport and limited access to the terminal building have been in effect since June 22. Chase also says enhanced and more frequent cleaning and sanitization protocols with additional cleaning staff have been in effect since COVID-19 precautions first took effect in the spring, along with physical distancing measures from check-in to departure and arrival gates to baggage claim.
Although he was given the all-clear by the inspectors at the airport, Warner said he’s still taking precautions for the next two weeks while at home, after he’d been waiting in St. John’s for the Atlantic Bubble to become a reality so he could safely visit his family. Wearing a mask outside of his bedroom and wiping down any surface he touches with disinfectant are part of his daily routine.
He’s also not encouraged by reports of potential COVID19 exposure on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Halifax on July 19, considering how long it can take for symptoms to appear.
“I intentionally waited until there was less risk for me being infected while I traveled to come home,” said Warner, “And it’s like me waiting out the worst of isolation and quarantine procedures away from my family, and the worry and anxiety that caused, was for nothing because now I still have to worry about infecting them just as much as I would have before.”