As all preparations are underway to receive returnees arriving by flight with BT International Airport resuming operation from Monday onwards, the state government has announced that all asymptomatic passengers will be home quarantined.
The state home department has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for passengers returning by Airlines, following the exemption of domestic air travel by passengers from the list of prohibited activities under lockdown by the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 20.
According to the SOP, all passengers should download and install AAROGYA SETU application in their mobile before travel. They are to be medically screened at their port of departure before boarding.
All passengers are also required to install a quarantine app developed by NIC/Government of Manipur by downloading from quarmonmanipur.nic.in before boarding the aircraft and activate it immediately on reaching home, it said.
Those passengers with Apple (IOS) or legacy handsets who are unable to download shall indicate the same in the form. Any queries about the App may be done at mn.ccr2020@gmail.com, it added.
All passengers on de-boarding at Imphal airport shall fill up the prescribed form supplied by Health department before proceeding to arrival hall in a staggered manner as regulated by the authorities, as per the SOP. At the arrival hall the medical teams will screen the passengers by full body thermal screened. Thereafter, the filled in form shall be submitted to medical team, it said.
All asymptomatic passengers shall be stamped for Home quarantine on their hand with indelible ink and allowed to baggage collection area. Any symptomatic passenger or suspected passenger will be separated immediately and sent to Isolation Ward/ COVID Treatment Ward by Medical Team as per the protocol.
After collection of luggage, the passengers shall proceed in batches to parking area for pick up either by their own Vehicle or taxi. Passengers who require assistance for transport may wait till all other passengers depart at the waiting area designated.
No visitors will be allowed to the arrival area and they shall remain seated in the vehicles in which they came. Loitering in and around parking area is not allowed. The boarding pass will be treated as curfew pass for all passengers, it added.
For those coming by vehicles to drop or pick up, all taxi drivers registered with transport department are exempted from curfew pass for pick up and dropping at airport, the SOP stated. For private vehicles who proceed to pick up passengers shall carry either softcopy or hard copy of boarding pass or ticket of passenger, which shall be treated as curfew pass for that period.
All persons including taxi drivers coming to drop or pick up passengers shall not get out of their vehicles. Persons including taxis coming to pick up passengers shall park their vehicles designated area and shall be there and leave immediately after the passenger picked up. Persons coming to drop passengers shall drop the passenger and leave the airport area immediately. No parking will be allowed.
Notably, the Ministry of Civil Aviation vide Order No.AV.29017/5/2020-DT dated 21 5.2020 had issued SOP for domestic air travel while the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had issued various SOPs/Advisories on quarantine protocols and also guidelines for air travels vide notification on May 24.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has permitted to travel only after proper screening of passengers before boarding and on the clearance of medical teams. Further installation of Aarogya Sethu App has been made mandatory for monitoring of the health condition of the passengers and only passengers with green code in the app are allowed to travel. After careful consideration of all the guidelines and the precautionary measures prescribed for airlines, the Standard Operating Procedure has been prescribed.
