Chennai airport plans to bring in ‘touch-free’ flying experience for passengers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From staff to passengers, Airports Authority of India (AAI), has been making arrangements to ensure most procedures are touch-free inside the airport.
As soon as passengers reach a terminal, they no longer need to hand over their ticket copies and identity proofs to the Central Industrial Security Force staff. Henceforth, they would be seated in a glass booth and with camera and LED screen outside the terminal gates. The passengers have to show the documents to the camera and once the staff inside approve, they can enter the terminal, sources said.
Officials of Airports of Authority of India (AAI) said all check-in counters have been wrapped with glass panels with a small window at its front, so airline staff don’t directly come in contact with passengers.
Usually, airline staff issue boarding passes to passengers who come to the counter, but this may change too. AAI has planned to use alternative check-in counters to maintain physical distancing. An airline staff would inspect the ticket copy and identity proof from behind a glass pane. A machine issuing boarding passes would be in the next counter. After the details are keyed into the system, passengers could collect the pass from the machine.
In addition to this, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security announced that stamping of boarding passes can be dispensed with. “We want to try and keep passengers and staff as safe as possible. We are discussing some more plans, as well as protective measures, that will be put in place in the coming weeks,” an official said.
