CAAS Increases Support For Changi Airport Frontliners
As the threat of the Omicron variant looms, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is ramping up safety measures for staff at Changi Airport.
On Wednesday (22 Dec), CAAS announced that Changi Airport frontline staff will be subject to a 7-day PCR rostered routine testing (RRT) in place of the current ART RRT cycle.
Additionally, airport workers who interact with arriving passengers will be required to don N95 masks and face shields.
Increased PPE & additional testing for Changi Airport frontliners
According to a CAAS press release on Wednesday (22 Dec), safety guidelines in place for Changi Airport frontliners will be enhanced in light of the infectious Omicron variant.
For starters, all airport staff who interact with arriving passengers will have to don N95 masks and face shields. These include those working in public areas such as taxi stands.
Additionally, testing for all Changi Airport frontliners will change from a 7-day ART test cycle to a 7-day PCR test cycle instead.
Furthermore, “higher risk frontline airport workers” will have to undergo an employer-supervised ART on the 3rd day of the week-long testing cycle.
Singapore aircrew members will also follow the stricter testing procedure for “higher risk frontline airport workers”.
However, given the volatile Covid-19 situation, CAAS will be prepared to adjust these measures at any given time.
CAAS introduced measures in Nov amidst Omicron concerns
Earlier in November, CAAS had put in place a suite of safety measures when the Omicron variant first emerged.
These measures include:
- Restricting entry for travellers with recent travel history to Southern Africa
- Deferring launch of VTLs (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates)
- Tightening testing protocols for VTL travellers
- Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing protocols for Changi airport workers and aircrew.
Workers at the transit area were required to minimally don N95 masks and face shields.
Those working in the highest risk areas must also wear gowns and gloves.
Hope Changi Airport staff can discharge their duties safely
As our Changi Airport frontliners are the first to come in contact with foreign visitors who are possibly infected, it’s important that they are properly geared so they can discharge their duties safely.
With more regular testing, we hope the authorities will be able to swiftly detect infected individuals and ringfence them accordingly.
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Featured image adapted from Changi Airport.Â
