SCAA prepared for arrival of visitors today |01 August 2020

Mr Albert (Photo: Anel Robert)

As a group of 160 plus tourists will come into the country with the arrival of the first Emirates Airline flight, the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority has put in place measures and guidelines to adjust to the ‘new normal’ as the country’s borders re-open for commercial flights.

In line with this a press conference was organised yesterday by the chief executive of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) Gary Albert at the head office of the company.

“The aim of our conference is to make the public aware the measures that we have made in preparation to re-open the airport,” said CEO Albert.

He also noted that it is important to assert that SCAA is a facilitator.

“We ensure that all agencies that have their functions at the airport are able to provide their services, for example Air Seychelles as ground handler, immigration, customs, health, biosecurity, police, shops, restaurants, money changers as well as ensuring that security and safety remain our number one priority,” he added.

“One of our main roles is safety, security and health, we have made sure that services provided in the airport are of a high quality as well as keeping in line with the Covid-19 health guidelines.”

He continued by adding that SCAA ensures that service levels are maintained and there is coordination among respective stakeholders.

Where the Covid-19 situation is concerned, Mr Albert noted that the airport is ready when Seychelles is ready.

To make sure that Seychelles avoids a second wave of Covid-19, medical facilities have been placed at the airport where there is also the presence of medics. Passengers will be tested on arrival by the rapid tests and social distancing will be observed in queues, on benches and other crowded areas such as the check-in area where more space has been given to keep distance.

Enhanced hygiene through the use of sanitisers, disinfectant and increased cleaning will also be part of the new normal at the airport and temperature checks through thermal cameras in various places (gates, buildings, lounges) will detect if an arriving tourist is sick.

It has also been made mandatory to wear masks effective as of today, August 1, in airport areas.

Another change that the SCAA will be doing is revising airline slots to have one hour difference between flights as to avoid large crowds.

Continuous training with staff and airport stakeholders will still be conducted to ensure the recommendations are applied.

And as a precautionary measure to protect staff there will be minimal contacts with passengers.

“We are open-minded and will be very observant to pick up on mistakes and lessons to learn, so we are seeking the full cooperation of the public, to help protect each other and to protect our staff. We are not preventing public from accessing the airport as there are restaurants, shops, pharmacies to make use of, but avoid the check-in and arrival areas,” said Mr Albert.

Public education will continue and will be done through social media, websites and media programmes.

For the time being, Emirates, Etihad and Ethiopian airlines have confirmed flights coming into Seychelles while Air Seychelles will begin flights by the end of August.

Christophe Zialor