South African Airways (SAA) has released a statement to reassure its customers ‘that its operational health and safety procedures adhere to the World Health Organisation’s protocols to protect its customers and crew from contracting the COVID-19 (coronavirus).’
To clean the aircraft, SAA uses disinfectants which have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are effective against the COVID-19 (coronavirus).
‘The cleaning protocols our teams use to clean our aircraft have been intensified and focus on high frequent touch points such as handles, seatbelt buckles, tray tables and armrests, among other things,’ the statement reads.
‘Hard surfaces such as lavatories, galley units and window shades are also thoroughly cleaned with multi-purpose cleaners.
The Airbus fleet is equipped with state-of-the-art, High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that sift out and remove dust, bacteria, allergens and other unhygienic particles.
SAA crew have been trained to handle situations involving communicable diseases or any other medical emergencies on board and they work closely with ground and inflight expert medical assistance.
All our aircraft are loaded with bio-hazardous spill kits in case of a contamination event (or to handle a contamination event) and cleaning materials.
We assess all our passengers and advise that if they are feeling ill, they need to follow recommendations offered by medical professionals,’ SAA said in the statement.
‘The safety, health and wellbeing of our customers and crew is a number one priority’, said SAA, adding that it follows procedures, advice and guidelines from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organisation, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Civil Aviation Authorities as well as the airports and customs authorities’ directives to ensure the safety of its customers.
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