ISLAMABAD: The federal government is pondering about restoring flight operations after April 4 and the Civil Aviation Authority has issued a new set of standard operating procedures to be followed in the wake of COVID-10 outbreak for the period of April 4-11.
CAA spokeman Abdul Sattar Khokhar said that while a final decision is yet to be made regarding restoration of flight operations, CAA has issued an advisory to ensure safety of passenger and flight staff to minimize the risk of infection.
The aviation sector is not functioning due to the precautions against the pandemic since March 21.
The SOP states that aircraft will be disinfected according to infections control protocols at each station before passengers board the flight. Passenger safety instructions will be distributed among all inbound passengers. Passengers will go through standard health check for COVID-19 before boarding. Boarding passes will be issued with a gap of at least one seat between two passengers.
Passengers and crew members will have to wear surgical masks and crew staff will provide sanitiser after every 40 minutes during the entire flight. Food will be served on flights longer than 150 minutes. For shorter durations, only packaged food will be provided. Photos will be taken before take-off and after boarding is complete to ensure the procedure is followed and submitted to the CAA electronically through Whatsapp. Images will be kept in record.
