Those of you who passed through Chennai airport in the last few days, did you know that your baggage was being quietly disinfected before departure and on arrival?
According to officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), ever since domestic operations resumed on Monday, the baggage of about 2,500 passengers has been disinfected. Passengers were allowed one piece of check-in and hand baggage each.
“So when a passenger drops their baggage in the in-line scanner for checking, it eventually reaches an area where staff spray disinfectant over it. Only after this is the baggage sent to the aircraft for loading. Likewise, after the baggage is unloaded on arrival, it is disinfected before being put on the conveyor belt,” an official said.
Every airport has to implement measures to sanitise baggage, AAI officials said. Airline and ground staff would also be provided with masks and gloves, they added. In Delhi and Kochi airports, ultraviolet disinfection tunnels were already in use. AAI was considering installing one at Chennai airport but eventually decided to spray disinfectant on baggage instead. “If we had a firm that held a certification from a government lab showing that such disinfection methods are indeed useful and kills the virus, we would have certainly done it,” another official added.
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