Several flights fly with poor occupancy. Airports wear a dull and a nearly empty look. At a time when hundreds of passengers have called off non-essential travel this past month following fear of COVID-19, what is it like to work at the airport in such times?
Employees go about their jobs as usual with care and precaution, though there is a faint underlying fear inside, many of them said.
“Immigration staff like me are the first point of contact for passengers after they finish the health check-up. I wear gloves and a mask and have a hand sanitiser. I meet hundreds of passengers every day. I’m confident that with good precautionary measures nothing will happen, but there are moments when I’m a bit nervous,” a staff in immigration said.
The police and CISF personnel, who walk through to different parts of both international and domestic terminals round the clock, say they are in a critical job of communicating with almost all the staff in the terminals.
“I’m confident that as long as we take adequate precautions, there is nothing to fear. Even if there is a chance of getting the infection, we read reports about cases where people have recovered from COVID-19. There should be only caution and not any stigma,” a police source said.
Family in fear
While they are confident, they say their family members don’t feel the same way. “My wife keeps calling me every now and then to check if I’m doing fine. I keep reassuring her that there is nothing to feel paranoid. But yes, the fear is quite natural,” a CISF staff said.
But many passengers are scared to eat or even touch anything in the terminals, they added.
“The growing fear is affecting everyone. This kind of an uneasy atmosphere shouldn’t persist for long,” he added.
