So what does this mean to air travel? Considering the fact that people who were infected in Asia (where SARS is believed to have originated) have carried the disease to other parts of the world, one could assume that the principal way infected persons brought it to those other parts of the world was they flew on a plane and the disease manifested itself in the immediate days thereafter. In recent days, flights have been quarantined and inspected when suspected cases of SARS are reported. Such events are quickly leading to changes in airline protocol when it comes to passengers who appear to be infected with SARS.
Advice and action regarding SARS and air travel
- The World Health Organization advises that passengers with flu-like symptoms or who may have been exposed to SARS, should not be allowed to fly. This is based on the possibility that SARS may be passed on to other passengers during flights. This advice is particularly geared at flights leaving from cities where SARS has been detected.
- It has been suggested that health workers advise airlines of passengers who are possibly infected, and that they should not be permitted to fly.
- Numerous organizations are advising people to postpone trips to Asia. Many companies have already ceased business travel to Asia.
- In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised that people should postpone travel not only to Hong Kong but to all of China, Singapore, and Vietnam. Despite the large clusters of SARS cases in Toronto, Canada it has not been added to the list of places to avoid non-essential travel. Similar advice is beginning to be dispersed by government agencies in other countries as well.
- After claims that China had been negligent in reporting SARS, China has agreed to submit updates daily from every province. There has been a question of World Health Organization officials being given access to the Guangdong province where it is believed that SARS originated in order to find out more about the disease.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun handing out information to travelers returning from Asia about SARS and what to look for or do should symptoms appear.
- Airline crew members are being asked to participate in the battle against SARS by watching for sick passengers and isolating them from other passengers if at all possible.
