Major airlines on full alert to cope with SARS virus

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The world's major airlines have been on full alert following the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) ailment, which has caused a worldwide travel scare.

Qantas has, for example, been in a close contact with relevant health authorities to cope with the possible spread of the killer respiratory virus by travelers.

"In light of the recent directives, this includes displaying advisory signage at check-in counters, and distributing information letters to customers checking in, which is in the process of being implemented," said Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon.

Qantas has had a longstanding policy of not carrying customers suffering from an infectious disease where there is a direct risk of transmission of that disease to others.

"However, in the event of a suspected case of SARS, the aircraft will undergo a special cleaning and disinfecting process overseen by the local airport authorities before the aircraft is boarded again," Dixon said.

The fear of the possible spread of the deadly illness has prompted Singapore Airlines to involve its ground staff at check- in counters and pre-boarding waiting areas to pay close attention to the physical condition of the airline's passengers.

"If a passenger is unwell and displays symptoms similar to SARS, they will be asked to consult a doctor and will not be allowed to board unless the doctor certifies that they are not infectious," Singapore Airlines manager of public relations Glory Henriette said.

To prevent the further spread of the disease, SIA will soon be providing masks for all passengers and crew on flights departing from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Taiwan and Kaohsiung.

The airline is also planning to step up the disinfection of its aircraft. "The process involves cleaning all hard surfaces accessible to passengers, including armrests, tray tables, side panels, overhead bins and toilets, with an aircraft-specific disinfectant recommended by the World Health Organization," she said.

Other major companies, such as Eva Air and Garuda Indonesia, have also been on full alert to curb the spread of the deadly virus to their cabin crew and passengers.

Garuda Indonesia said that the airline would provide masks and medical gloves to passengers flying to Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Guangzhou and Bangkok as preventive measures for the protection of their passengers.

"The airline will closely screen its passengers, and if they are suspected of having symptoms of SARS, they will be examined in cooperation with the airport authorities," said Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto.

As a precautionary measures against SARS, Eva Air ground staff have been instructed to check any passengers before flying Eva Air."If a passenger found suspected of infecting SARS virus, he or she should go to the airport health authority for further examination," said Wiewie, a spokesperson of Eva Air.

She said that Eva Air will not allow any prospective passenger found infected by the disease. "But this does not apply to those who can show medical evidence displaying that they are not infected by the disease," she added.

Eva Air also provides special masks to passengers on request.

She said that for passengers flying China, Hong Kong, Macao, Vietnam and Singapore are required to wear a mask during the flight.

To ensure that Eva Air is free from SARS virus, the carrier is equipped with aircraft air-circulation system. "The carrier will undergo a special cleaning and disinfecting process based on the WHO standard," she said.

The war in Iraq and the outbreak of the SARS virus have exacerbated the worst-ever slump for full-service airlines already hurt by low-fare carriers, slowing economies and travel worries since the September 11 hijacked plane attacks in the United States.

Qantas has cut international flying services by up to 20 percent between April 1 and mid-July of this year, while Singapore Airlines has cut 13.6 percent of its flights.

Qantas said that flight services subject to reductions included those to UK, Rome, Paris and Australia-Los Angeles.

Dixon said that UK services had been reduced to 17 flights per week from the previous 21, Rome services to two from three per week, Paris services to two from three per week and Australia-Los Angeles services to 25 from 28 flights per week.

The Qantas Chicago extensions due to commence on March 31 have been deferred. It has also suspended the airline's twice-weekly Brisbane-Hong Kong service, its four times a week Sydney-Hong Kong services and its Perth-Singapore-Hong Kong services.

Qantas has also made adjustments to flight frequencies from Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne to Japan resulting in a 20 percent capacity reduction. Qantas has also decided to defer a range of planned increases to services on existing routes.

"Qantas is monitoring events closely and will make additional changes to its international schedules as necessary," Dixon said. "Some of the international capacity will be redeployed to domestic operations," he added.

Other major cities affected include Los Angeles and New York in the United States, and Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Manchester in Europe. In addition, the airline's launch of thrice-weekly services to Bangalore, originally planned for May 1, will be deferred until June 12.

Similarly, Singapore Airlines has cut down on 125 services per week, which is equivalent to 13.6 percent of capacity in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs), citing a "softening demand" as the result of the war and SARS.

Singapore Airlines said that the cut in services was quite broad-based with reductions made to flights to and from Europe, the U.S., North Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia. "We will be monitoring the situation and loads carefully and make necessary adjustments to match the capacity with the demand," it said.

The latest cuts include the suspension of all services to Kaohsiung from April 15 and to Hiroshima from April 9 to May 31.

Singapore Airlines said that there would be fewer weekly frequencies to destinations in all regions, in particular Asia, where services to Hong Kong would be cut from 41 to 26 flights per week. "Weekly services to Guangzhou will be reduced from seven to five flights, to Hanoi from six to four and Taipei from 20 to 16 flights," Henriette said.

Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia has been compelled to cut its flights to the Middle East from eight times a week to two or three times.

Garuda's load factor to and from the Middle East has dropped to 20 percent from 70 percent prior to the war.

Garuda president Indra Setiawan said that since the emergence of SARS several weeks ago, Garuda's daily load factor to and from countries affected by the disease -- Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam -- had dropped to 60 percent from 80 percent.

Under normal conditions, the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta receives at least 900 passengers a day from those four SARS-affected countries, while the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali receives about 1,000 travelers.