NCAA exempts crew on stopover to high risk nations from quarantine

• Issues fresh guidelines to airlines on COVID-19
• Seeks long layover stoppage to avoid contamination

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued fresh guidelines to airline crew saddled with the responsibility of using their aircraft to ferry medical equipment particularly from China and high risk countries.

The aviation regulatory body in its guidelines, titled, “NCAA COVID-19 Guidelines on the Management of Crew Members”, signed by the Director-General of the agency, Capt. Musa Nuhu, dated April 14^th, 2020 and sent to all airline operators directed aircraft operators to take appropriate measures to stop long stopovers and layovers in high risk areas as much as practicable in order to reduce risk of contamination.

The new guidelines may have been given following controversy that trailed the alleged disappearance of three Air Peace flight crew engaged in the shipment of medical facilities from China from quarantine by Lagos State Government for two weeks.

The Chief Executive Officer of Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide admitted that the crew members did not know that they would be quarantined on arrival but stated that when the aircraft landed in Abuja, the concern authorities suggested it.

According to her, the airline later learnt that while the flight was airborne to Lagos, Abuja  directed the Lagos State Government to quarantine the crew on arrival.

“While the engineers and the dispatcher went down to the foot of the aircraft to secure it, the Lagos State government’s health team took the pilots and the cabin crew to quarantine”, Olajide added.

The NCAA boss said it had come to the notice of the authority that some operators had their crew members placed in quarantine for several days after a short stopover in areas considered as high risk by the national public health authorities when in actual fact they did not leave the aircraft during the respective stopover.

The aviation regulatory body equally stated that where crew members, maintenance or cargo/load specialized personnel are involved in flights with a short stopover or in special flights ‘do not need to be under medical quarantine and observation after returning, provided they did not have a symptomatic passenger or crew member or onboard and could make good pre-return preparations by strictly observing some requirements’.

The aviation agency further stated that where possible, after returning to home base, but not later than 48 hours from the first contact with the suspected passenger, the respective crew members should be asked to take appropriate self isolation measures pending the result of passenger’s test.

“If the test is positive, the respective crew member(s) should be placed in quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the confirmed.

According to NCAA, only one flight or technical crew member should allowed to disembark the aircraft for an external inspection, refueling among others, stressing that in such case, direct contact with the ground crew of the airport situated in a high area should be avoided.

To the greatest extent possible, the NCAA directed that no ground personnel should be allowed to embark the aircraft except for remediation of technical problems or other ground staff whose presence onboard is essential for performing their tasks.

When such personnel is onboard, it said they should be required to wear appropriate Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE).

The agency urged that crew members should take all measures to minimize the direct contact including wearing PPE such as face mask and glove with shutting of the aircraft doors immediately for the return trip upon completion of the transport of assisting medical personnel and materials.

It noted that where avoiding long stopover or layover is not possible due to operational restrictions, mitigating measures should be put in place in coordination with the airport operators and local authorities to ensure that risk of exposure by contact of the crew members with local population is reduced to the strictly needed.

According to the NCAA DG, “The transportation should be done, as much as possible, with a minimum separation of one seat between crew members. Once they reach the resting facilities (hotel), the crew members should   be provided with packed meal and will not be allowed to exit their rooms except for emergency reasons”.

“Additional meals and drinks should be provided via the hotel’s room service. The aircraft operator should agree with the hotel that the rooms to be used by crew members are to be disinfected prior to being used”.

The aircraft operator should provide a clear designation of tasks and cabin areas of responsibility to all cabin crew members who are expected to be in direct contact with passengers. Depending on the aircraft configuration and crew composition, each cabin crew member should be directed to perform duties in only one, delimited, sector of the cabin in as much as possible”.

The NCAA said the guide is intended to provide guidance on the preventive measures operators should implement in order to demonstrate to the national public health authorities that actions had been taken to minimize the epidemiological risks.

This way, it reiterated it would avoid having crews being quarantined by the public health authorities during stopovers/layovers or on return from areas with high epidemiological risk.

Wole Shadare