Johannesburg - Government has relaxed the requirements for flying over the holiday period after it was announced that domestic Port Health screening has stopped and domestic travellers won’t need health questionnaires.
Mango Airlines revealed in a statement that domestic Port Health screening countrywide had been stopped from midnight on Tuesday, and that domestic travellers wouldn’t require health questionnaires from Wednesday.
“Acsa (Airports Company SA) will continue with temperature screening checks accordingly for airport entry, also only allowing entry to those with the applicable paperwork for flight. Travel permits will no longer be required for all travel,” Mango said.
The airline added that wearing a mask in airports and for travelling, social distancing within airport terminals remained mandatory and encouraged airline guests to maintain hand hygiene and sanitising frequently.
“These are extraordinary times requiring never-before-implemented extraordinary measures. We call on all South Africans to adhere to lockdown regulations, wear masks at all times, maintain good hygiene and social distancing, and more than ever before,” Mango said.
The airline added that due to the extra regulatory and safety protocols required, customers were advised to plan for extra time for their journeys.
Mango, Kulula, FlySafair and Airlink have all reopened for domestic flights, with other brands like British Airways also returning.
Acsa spokesperson Gopolang Peme confirmed to The Star that the Department of Health has withdrawn health screening services for domestic departure at all international airports.
While the announcement is good news for some domestic travellers, there are some concerns from people saying it is too soon as the pandemic is not over yet.
Department of Health spokesperson Popo Maja announced the withdrawal of screening for domestic departures on Tuesday.
Maja said the Port Health Services have been conducting screening for domestic departures at the international airports since lockdown level 3.
“Although the outbreak is still ongoing, the current reports on the outbreak indicate that most provinces are reporting lower numbers of cases when compared to the numbers reported during the peak of the outbreak,” the spokesperson said.
The department said that with the move to lockdown level 1, the country has reopened international travel in the three major airports and that port health played a major role in the monitoring of international travellers to ensure compliance with international health regulations and to control the spread of communicable diseases.
“Currently, Port Health officials are required to implement entry and exit screening to reduce further spread of Covid-19 and to ensure compliance with relevant health measures at all ports of entry,” Maja said.
The spokesperson added that the reopening of international travel has resulted in the need to redirect the port health capacity to international travel to ensure the risk of importation of cases was minimised.
“The department has therefore taken a decision to withdraw the implementation of domestic screening by Port Health officials at all international airports,” he said.
The department, however, emphasised that airport authorities were still expected to ensure compliance with Covid-19 protocols within their environment, including ensuring all people entering the terminal buildings were screened, sanitised and were wearing masks. |
The Star