PRETORIA- OR Tambo International Airport management has appealed to travellers to complete the compulsory health questionnaire before arriving at the airport for domestic air travel, which is permissible in some instances under level 3 of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
“Management of OR Tambo International Airport has appealed to passengers to ensure that the required traveller health questionnaire is completed before arrival at the entrance to the domestic terminal,” said the Kempton Park-based airport’s spokesperson, Samukelo Khambule.
She said the airport was facilitating greater numbers of passengers as travel for business purposes gradually recovered after months of hard lockdown that had brought almost all businesses in South Africa to a standstill.
“In recent days we have begun to experience longer queues at the terminal entrance points because many passengers have not completed the required health questionnaire. This means that there are increasing numbers of passengers gathering around the entrance, filling in the forms,” Khambule said.
She said providing completed traveller health questionnaires was a requirement before passengers would be allowed into the terminal buildings.
“So far, we have experienced good co-operation from passengers in terms of abiding by the compulsory mask and other regulations, including provision of the necessary business travel documents,” said Khambule.
“We therefore appeal to passengers to avoid delays at the entrance by ensuring that they have filled in the forms before they get to the airport.”
The traveller health questionnaire is provided on airline websites when making a flight reservation. It can also be downloaded at the link below on Airports Company South Africa's (Acsa) website, and except for the signature, it can be completed online.
At the end of May, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country was moving to a relaxed level 3 lockdown from 1 June, which included reopening most sectors of the economy, as well as the relaxation of a number of regulations that had governed the movement of individuals under strict levels 4 and 5.
In a televised national address, Ramaphosa apologised for the restrictions the government had put in place from the start of the national lockdown. However, he stressed that they had been necessary to prepare the country's health systems and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
"I am sorry that these measures imposed a great hardship on you – restricting your right to move freely, to work and eke out a livelihood," he said at the time.
"As a result of the measures we imposed – and the sacrifices you made – we have managed to slow the rate of infection and prevent our health facilities from being overwhelmed."
Ramaphosa also announced the reopening of a number of industries to help stimulate South Africa's ailing economy, but some businesses where physical distancing might not be practical will remain closed for now.