Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, May 26: In event of an epidemic outbreak, airport could become a gateway for the disease to spread, as large number of people come together and travel to different places. Hence, when there is an outbreak of disease, airport management needs to be alert and passenger safety needs to be prioritized.
From past two weeks, Nipah virus has hit headlines. As per reports, Nipah virus claimed lives of 13 people and 23 people are infected with this virus in Kerala.
Mangaluru airport is few kilometres away from the Kerala border and many passengers even from Kerala make use of this airport to board flights and reach their respective destinations.
Kozhikode airport has made necessary arrangement for the safety of passengers and staff of airport to make sure they are safe from Nipah virus outbreak. However, Mangaluru airport has not taken any protective measures such as providing masks to passengers or equipping their staff with gloves.
Speaking to Daijiworld, a passenger who wants to remain anonymous said, "Hundreds of passengers come from Kannur, Kasargod and Kozhikode to Mangaluru airport to board flights to their respective destinations. I have noticed that none of the immigration officers is wearing masks for their own safety purpose. When hundreds of passengers from Kerala make use of this airport, how can an immigration officer find out whether any passenger is infected with Nipah or not? Immigration officers remain in close proximity with passengers to monitor them. In such cases, there is high possibility of the virus spreading from an officer to a passenger,”
There is an urgent need that the Mangalore Airport Staff takes action for the safety of its own staff and passengers.
Passenger Mohammed Iqbal said, "I am residing in Dubai since 10 years. Four days back I arrived to Mangaluru. When I was boarding plane to India at Dubai airport, the officials gave special instruction to be extra careful on Nipah virus. When I arrived at Mangaluru airport, everyone is very casual. This is a negligent behaviour on part of the airport management. They are supposed to issue safety and preventive guidelines to passengers,”
The Nipah virus has created fear among travellers. Hence giving information is necessary to keep away misconceptions and adopt preventive measures. Some passengers are not even aware of the virus, hence information always helps, opines Iqbal.
“Even tourists from other countries arrive at Mangaluru airport and drive towards Kerala as it is known as a tourism destination. They are totally unaware what this Nipah virus is all about. At least airport authority should take initiative to give awareness about it and instruct them to be safe from this disease,” he adds.
When Daijiworld brought this issue to the notice of airport officials they said, ”We have not received any warning from the international organisation regarding this disease so far. We are monitoring foreign passengers’ health in the airport. We have our own airport medical team, and if we find any passenger is sick, we will get them tested before they go on board,”