After Cambodia ban, passengers may be screened before flights

After Cambodia ban, passengers may be screened before flights

Health director-general says discussions will be held with airlines on mandatory screening, including transit passengers.

Mandatory pre-flight screening is being considered after Cambodia suspended flights from Malaysia and Indonesia.
PUTRAJAYA:
Talks are to be held with aviation companies on mandatory Covid-19 screening of air passengers, including those who transit at Malaysian airports, said health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

Noor Hisham said such screenings could break the chain of transmission via airlines. “The use of our airports for flight transits is an issue,” he said, as they may infect other passengers.

The proposed mandatory screening comes in the wake of a Cambodian suspension of flights from Malaysia and Indonesia beginning on Aug 1 after 108 airline passengers tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in the country.

There were 55 cases among passengers using Malaysian airlines. Noor Hisham said the 55 were not from Malaysia, but had been in transit at KLIA before returning to Cambodia.

Noor Hisham said discussions would be held to see how screening could be implemented, including passengers who transit at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

He said the cost for the screening must be paid by passengers, not the government.

The Cambodian government has said that flights from Malaysia and Indonesia had to be suspended because of an increase in imported Covid-19 cases from the two countries over the past few weeks.

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