Emirates has unveiled several steps for employee and customer care, that are set to take effect on the resumption of scheduled flights to about nine destinations.
Emirates says measures will be at every step of the traveller’s journey, To enhance the sanitisation of all touchpoints, and ensure the health and safety of our customers and employees. All stakeholders will be involved from Dubai airport to immigration, health, and aviation authorities to ensure that the measures are implemented.
“All these measures, in combination with the proactive pandemic management strategies that the UAE has taken, show the seriousness with which we are taking the health and safety of our local and global communities and will give confidence to the public,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer.
For check-ins, Emirates has introduced complimentary hygiene kits to be given to every passenger upon check-in at Dubai International Airport and on flights to Dubai. These kits comprise of masks, gloves, antibacterial wipes, and hand sanitiser. The hygiene kits supplement a slew of additional measures already introduced to keep customers safe.
Gloves and masks are mandatory for all customers and employees at the airport in Dubai, while only masks are mandated on Emirates flights. On arrival at the airport, thermal scanners at various areas monitor the temperatures of all passengers and employees. Physical distancing indicators have been placed on the ground and in waiting areas to help travellers maintain the necessary distance at check-in, immigration, boarding, and transfer areas.
The airport team has also installed protective barriers at each check-in desk and immigration counter to provide additional safety reassurance to passengers and employees during an interaction over the counter.
Customers travelling through Dubai International Airport and transferring onto another flight will go through thermal screening upon disembarkation. Transfer desks at the airport have also been installed with protective barriers as a precautionary measure. Airport staff, dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE), will direct customers from a safe distance for extra assistance. Customers will be given an additional hygiene kit at the gate before boarding their connecting flight.
The boarding sequence has been staggered, and passengers board by row, from the last row to the first, in small numbers. The waiting area has also been modified to ensure all customers observe social distancing. Emirates boarding agents, dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE), will facilitate the boarding sequence. The boarding gates are deep cleaned and disinfected after the boarding of every flight.
All cabin crew on board will be fully kitted out in PPEs. To uphold the highest standards of safety and hygiene, Emirates has added a cabin service assistant (CSA) to the crew complement on flights over 1.5 hours. The CSAs will ensure lavatories are cleaned at frequent intervals of every 45 mins. Each lavatory has been equipped with sanitising soap and hand washing instructions.
To safeguard its employees, Emirates’ flight and cabin crew are provided with cars for pick up and drop off at their home at the beginning and end of their duty. Operating crew check-in for their rostered flights in a dedicated crew airport facility before being transported to the aircraft. Layovers in destination cities have been reduced where possible, and on long-haul flights, where layovers are necessary, crew are put up in individual rooms in hotels.
On return to Dubai, where all Emirates cabin crew are based, Covid-19 tests are done on all crew. Every crew member has been mandated a 14-day quarantine in their homes after every flight unless they are on duty….