IATA urges govts, airlines for more self-service options

The IATA has advised the governments and airlines to introduce more self-service options for passengers to help contain the spread of coronavirus disease. These self-service options should be applied for both prior to arrival at the airport as well as at the airports to minimise the contact among the people. Pre-flight, IATA foresees the need for governments to collect passenger data in advance of travel, including health information, which should be accomplished using well-tested channels such as those used for eVisa or electronic travel authorisation programmes. Nick Careen, senior VP for airport, passenger cargo and security at IATA, said there is a need to collect more details of passengers prior to flight for contact tracing purposes. "This data should be collected in electronic mode. Iata strongly recommends government to have internet portal to collect required data and this will allow wider use of data through different gadgets," Careen said. "Passengers can complete as much check-in processes online as possible prior to arriving at the airport because this will minimise time spend at the airport and also reduce contact points. This includes remote check-in (electronic / home printed boarding passes), automated bag drops (with home printed bag tags) and self-boarding. Governments should also revoke regulatory obstacles to enable things such as online boarding passes and bag tags. At departure terminal, the access should be limited to workers, passengers and people accompanying speed-need passengers to reduce mobility. Temperature screen should be put in place at the entry points and screening must be carried out by professionals. Screening staff need to have the latest devices to monitor temperatures," he said. <br/>