Having airlifted 170 Indian citizens from Wuhan and Iran since the cornoavirus pandemic outbreak, the IAF has decided not to allow COVID-19 suspects to board the aircraft and directed the pilots and other crew to remain in the cockpit at the time of escorting passengers from outside the country as a precautionary measure.
In the latest set of advisories, the IAF also asked its crew to brief passengers about social distancing, cough etiquettes, refrain from touching aircraft surfaces and personal hygiene.
As per the drill, the boarding passengers will go through thermal screening and any symptomatic person will not be allowed to board the plane, officials said here on Monday.
After going through thermal screening, the passengers will have to disinfect their hands by using sanitisers before boarding the plane. Moreover, the support staff and crew of the IAF planes will not come in close contact with the passengers as a safety measure. The IAF had deployed its giant C-17 transport aircraft to bring back Indians from Iran and China and the plane can accommodate more than 400 passengers. The procedure after landing in India entails the ground staff maintaining distance from the incoming crew and passengers. Also, all waste items left over by passengers will have to be tightly sealed in bags on board and disposed of by biohazard vehicles, they said.
Besides this, the IAF is also working on a contingency plan to allow its personnel to work from home. The Army has already implemented such a scheme with 35 per cent officers and 50 per cent other ranks working from home at the Army Headquarters here from Monday. These personnel will work from home till March 31 and then the second batch will do the same.
The IAF plan comprises working with 50 per cent manpower in case of coronavirus spread in the service. The remaining workforce will work from home, officials said.
The plan also says while deciding the roster for the first week, addressees are advise to include personnel who are involved in core activities, residing in close proximity of their office and who may use their own transport to travel to work places. The IAF has directed the Director General Medical Services (Air) to work out a disinfection plan for all office complexes of Air headquarters and common areas.