Roissy is still idling. The first airport in France receives - for the time being - only 6000 travelers a day approximately, against 200 000 in normal times. But "the after" is already being put in place, "in order to ensure the transport of travelers in the best possible sanitary conditions", we insist at Aéroports de Paris (ADP), the site manager . This Thursday morning, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the Secretary of State for Transport, went on the spot "to check if the protection rules were respected".
"90% of passengers show up with a mask", welcomes ADP, even if wearing a mask is ... compulsory, and 10% of people therefore arrive in violation. Most of them are therefore quickly equipped in the airport shops ... Hygiene - in places, but also in travelers - has become a daily requirement. Forty contactless distributors of hydroalcoholic gel were installed on the site.
Thermal cameras, floor markings, etc.
The passenger journey has been thoroughly reviewed. At the screening inspection posts, palpations are limited to the strict minimum. The bins reserved for travelers' belongings are systematically disinfected. And once you reach the boarding area, there is no question of sticking to each other! In the large terminal 2E terminal, for example, the new markings on the ground invite you to respect social distancing measures.
In Roissy, contactless thermal cameras to detect passenger fever
"The airlines then take over," said an ADP official. For Air France, a temperature reading, using a "pistol thermometer", will be carried out in the departure lounge. A result above 38 degrees and the feverish passenger will not be allowed to board the aircraft. The catch? It will then be necessary to take the time to remove his luggage from the hold, if he has checked one.
New at Roissy: thermal imaging cameras have been deployed in the baggage claim rooms. ADP installed 12 to detect possible Covid-19 carriers among those arriving. "We take your temperature for your safety," informs a poster at the counter.
The cameras in question are capable of scanning 16 people at the same time in the stream of travelers. Those with more than 38 degrees appear the face - blurred - surrounded by a red frame. "The temperature is then confirmed with a contactless thermometer, then the person is taken to the airport emergency medical service where its possible contamination can be tested," says ADP. What happens if a passenger reeks and refuses to comply with the protocol? No binding measures, the authorities defer to "everyone's responsibility, good citizenship, common sense," insisted Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.
Everything is done to reassure travelers
In the end, is this device sufficient to reassure travelers, while the question of distance between passengers inside planes is controversial? In terms of health security, "it is the succession of control and vigilance measures that creates an environment of trust," noted the Secretary of State for Transport, during a press briefing ... outside , which allowed him to remove his mask. In Roissy, "we have created a sanitary bubble, the sort of equivalent of the cold chain," said Edward Arkwright, the executive director of the ADP group.
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There remains the question of standards, European and international. "Tomorrow, we will have to agree on the health elements for the recovery," observed Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, stressing that the European Commission had taken measures this Thursday to "converge on a foundation of health measures" and avoid "Asymmetries in the protection of travelers".
