Swine flu gives jitters to cabin crew

New Delhi: While on the ground one sees a surreal atmosphere with people in masks, immigration personnel suitably covered up, hand sanitizers at various points and thermal cameras, in the air, the cabin crew seem unprotected. With WHO warning of an explosion in cases, they are a worried lot. After all, a woman pilot in Noida and a CISF personnel at Delhi airport were recently detected with swine flu.
Says a Spicejet airhostess, "Recently, on a Delhi-Pune flight, almost every passenger was wearing a mask. I felt vulnerable suddenly. Why can't we have masks on sectors which are highly prone to swine flu, she asks. If we can have mandatory vaccinations for Hepatitis A and B and typhoid, why not mandatory measures here too?"
That feeling was echoed by an AI airhostess. "Recently, on an international flight, I tended to a passenger with cold and cough. Subsequently, I was down with flu for over a week. Now, I am tense after any international flight."
Though airlines say advisories have been given about swine flu, cockpit crew of at least two airlines say they haven't received any such intimation. Most airlines have kept masks in planes, but few passengers are aware of it. Obviously, information hasn't been disseminated properly?
AI, for example, has kept 14-15 masks and gloves on international flights, which are to be given to passengers with flu symptoms, says Jitender Bhargava, AI spokesman.
But cabin crew would like these masks to be made mandatory on all flights, quite like paracetamol tablets. In Hong Kong, says one airhostess, masks are available at airline counters.
Another suggestion is to screen passengers at the time of check-in, instead of disembarkation, as is being done now. By the time a sick passenger lands after a flight, he would have infected many, says a crew member.
23/08/09 Shobha John/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Aug 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2009