DGCA issues Ebola advisory for airlines

With airlines forming the first line of defence against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has become active in enforcing Government guidelines in this respect.

In particular, the DGCA will monitor whether airlines are keeping a record of all passengers who are returning to India after staying or transiting through four West African countries and are passing on the information to Airport Health Officers. This will be tallied against Indian missions in these countries sending in advance details of passengers boarding from the affected countries.

The DGCA has also supplied airlines with an announcement format that has to be included in in-flight announcements. The accent is on self reporting by passengers whose symptoms match with the onset of EVD.

Passengers are also being provided with a form in which they have to fill their health details in case they have visited any of the four EVD hit countries over the past three weeks.

For people heading out to West Africa, the advice is to avoid travel to the EVD affected countries if they are suffering from flue or taking medicines to combat an infectious disease. This is because in both cases there is a weakening of immunity making the person more susceptible to EVD. They will also be asked to avoid visiting hospitals treating EVD affected patients