Health declarations and temperature checks mandatory at Chinese aviation hubs

Shanghai is not the only city in China that requires arriving travelers to submit personal health declarations. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has mandated that all Chinese aviation operators keep a record of their passengers’ personal information and perform temperature checks as most confirmed patients develop a fever.

For example, Beijing Capital International Airport has introduced 49 temperature measuring equipment to screen travelers and staff at its terminals. The airport has also been disinfecting its premises more frequently, according to the Economic Daily.

“In addition to taking down passengers’ health information, we have increased our deep cleaning and disinfection frequency for aircraft cabins and cockpits. All the microphones and headphones on board are also cleaned and disinfected and we now replace and check the air filters more frequently,” added Zhang Wuan, the spokesperson of budget carrier Spring Airlines.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines has also been relying on an electronic health declaration form since Feb 3. The e-form can be accessed via a WeChat mini program, a QR code or the China Eastern app. The carrier explained that the introduction of an online form would also help to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission.

Chinese have been traveling less during this holiday period due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Beijing’s airport handled 947 flights and 115,100 passenger trips on Feb 2, down 44 percent and 61 percent respectively from the same period last year.

The volume of travelers at Shanghai’s two airports for the coming week will not surpass the average traffic volume as the city has prolonged its holiday till Feb 9, according to Zhou.