Chennai Airport Tightens its Precautionary Measures in the Wake of Omicron Variant

Amid the increasing concerns of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 around the world and the future of the airline industry once again looking to hit turbulence, Chennai Airport has strengthened its safety protocols and precautionary measures. The state government has already issued the notice to the authorities of four airports in the state which include airports in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchirappalli. According to the notice, these airports need to comply with the guidelines and regulations set by the union government in the wake of the Omicron variant which has come into effect from December 1.

Measures Taken by Chennai Airport

As per the reports State Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and Union Health Minister held a meeting regarding the preparation of the state in the wake of the Omicron variant on Tuesday. Following the guidelines from the union government, the authorities in Chennai airport have already begun taking highly structured measures for the arriving international passengers. For the passengers arriving from countries “at-risk”, a distinct corridor has been created in Terminal 4 for their screening. This corridor can contain around 450 passengers at a given point in time as per the claims of the authority. Moreover, the facilities that where passengers will go for RT-PCR tests, sample collection, and payment have been made available at the same level. According to the authorities, exclusive spaces have been created for each of these facilities in order to avoid any sort of crowding and to ensure smooth and seamless movement inside the corridor. Sharad Kumar who is the Director at Chennai Airport has informed that no flights have been delayed whatsoever due to the initiation of the new protocols. He added that arrivals and departures have been arranged in a seamless manner to avoid any sort of delay or inconvenience to the passengers. Furthermore, he said that more than enough staff from the Airport Authority of India (AAI), airlines, and other stakeholders have been deployed in the corridor to maintain smooth operations at terminal 4. As per the revised guidelines from the Union government which was issued two days ago, the testing of international travelers was made mandatory if they arrived from countries “at-risk” irrespective of their vaccination status. Authorities at Chennai Airport have informed that 88 samples have been taken since the morning of Wednesday and there hasn’t been a single positive case.