Kenya Airways wishes to inform its passengers and the general public that it has instituted several additional precautionary following the Ebola outbreak in parts of West Africa, as follows:
- All Kenya Airways passengers travelling from Free Town, Monrovia, Accra, Lagos, and Abuja will undergo temperature checks at the points of departure. Handgun thermometers, gloves and hand sanitizers have been provided to staff at these stations.
- All passengers are required to complete a surveillance form while still onboard to supply adequate information for traceability.
- All passengers arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from West Africa and Entebbe, and whose final destination is Nairobi, are now using a separate gate on arrival where screening will be done before release to Immigration officials, and into the country. Port Health,a division of the Ministry of Health responsible for disease surveillance and public health control at all points of entry, will regularly inform the various County Health teams of persons who have travelled to their counties as per surveillance forms.
- All transit Passengers will be ferried to Gate 3 at Terminal 1 C for screening before proceeding to their connecting flight. Adequate arrangements have been put in place to avoid delays and misconnection. Kenya Airways will be providing Port Health with details on the flights expected and numbers of transit and terminating passengers beforehand in order to facilitateing adequate planning for the screening.
- Kenya Airways is part of a team that also comprises the Kenya Airports Authority and Port Health, responsible for monitoring these activities at JKIA to ensure proper and consistent implementation.
These measures, which have already begun being implemented, are in addition to other proactive precautions that we have been taking namely:
- Educating all Kenya Airways’ staff, and especially those on the ground in Sierra Leone and Liberia, on Ebola, how it is transmitted and how to keep safe.
- Supplying our crews with Universal Precaution Kits (UPKs) and training them on the use to ensure that they do not come into contact with body fluids while carrying out their duties. Crews handling our flights to any West African destination continue to receive up to date briefs before departure and upon arrival back home from the KQ Medical personnel toensure they (Crew) are clear on the procedures to follow to protect them and cross infection of passengers.
- Constant contact with ground staff members in Monrovia, Free Town, Accra, Lagos and Abuja as well as provision of protective materials and related support. The Ground staff and crew are also on high alert to identify passengers who look unwell on check in or on board and facilitate immediate review by medical personnel for assistance.
- Kenya Airways is represented in the National Aviation Pandemic Preparedness Committee (through steering committee of CAPSCA that is chaired by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority). This enables us access information real time on the country position during such situations.
- We continuously monitor updates from World Health Organization, CDC and the International Air Transport Association on the disease, its spread and for guidelines on recommended actions.
We shall continue providing progressive and periodic media updates as the situation warrants. Thank you for flying ‘The Pride of Africa’.
Dr. Titus T. Naikuni
Group Managing Director & CEO
Kenya Airways
